The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Deported Nigerians

  • Deported Nigerians sue US, allege maltreatment during extradition flight to Ghana

    Deported Nigerians sue US, allege maltreatment during extradition flight to Ghana

    Three Nigerians who were recently deported from the United States and dumped in Ghana have approached a court in Washington DC  to challenge their deportation.

     The unnamed Nigerians and two fellow deportees from The  Gambia also complained to the court about their alleged inhuman treatment during  the 16hours  flight from the US to Ghana.

    They claimed, in the suit filed at the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, that   they were  shackled and given only bread and water.

    The suit was filed on their behalf by the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC).

    Defendants in the suit are the US Secretary of Homeland Security,Acting Director US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Attorney General and Secretary of State.

    The plaintiffs who were identified only with their initials of  D.A.,T.L.,I.O.,D.S., and K.S.,alleged that they were woken up in the middle of the night on Sept. 5 at a detention centre in Alexandria, Louisiana and not told where they were going until hours into the flight on a U.S. military cargo plane.

    READ ALSO: Top 10 African countries with largest military air fleets in 2025

    Their lawyers described the deportation as a violation of not only the due process rights of immigrants, but a circumvention of  deportation restrictions placed by immigration judges who determined those immigrants could not be returned to their home country.

     “Defendants know that they may not, consistent with U.S. immigration law, directly deport non-citizens to countries from which they have been granted fear-based protection,” they added.

    “As an end-run around this prohibition, Defendants have enlisted the government of Ghana to do their dirty work.”

    The attorneys argued that immigration judges granted their five plaintiffs fear-based deportation protections to their home country under the Immigration Nationality Act and Convention Against Torture.

    They are asking U.S District Judge Tanya Chutkan to require the return of the plaintiffs to the U.S.

    Ghana President John Dramani Mahama confirmed recently  that his country struck a deal with the U.S. to accept a group of 14 deportees and send some back to their countries of origin.

    President Donald Trump has been aggressively cracking down on immigrants he describes as criminals and “aliens” from countries whose nationals have overstayed their visas in the U.S.

  • How Nigeria can beat citizen deportation – economist

    How Nigeria can beat citizen deportation – economist

    Lucy George, a development economist and former staff of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, has advised Nigerians to remain in Nigeria and contribute to its national and economic development.

    George gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
    She said Nigerians should pay attention to the overwhelming number of Nigerians that had been deported from various countries while escaping the poor economic level of development in Nigeria.

    “We as Nigerians have a problem that should be tackled and that is the development of Nigeria.
    “We can’t sit down and expect the Federal Government to do everything because developing a country requires the people in it to be productive strengthening the private sector.

    “All the developed countries in the world are dominated by the private sector which creates massive employment opportunities and eliminates poverty,” she said.

    George said that she was surprised that a large number of Nigerians had been sent back, especially from Libya.

    “We have had an overwhelming number of Nigerians deported or voluntarily returned this year which is embarrassing.

    “The largest number of Nigerian deportees for this year comes from Cameroon which deported about 100,000 Nigerians who escaped the Boko Haram disasters and sought refuge in Cameroon.

    “That was seen to be an illegal deportation which still is being denied by some Cameroonian officials however, we are not including that in the embarrassing statistics.

    “I am surprised by the number of Nigerians that have been deported and have volunteered to return to Nigeria from Libya just this week as 161 people arrived on Thursday and 257 people did same on Tuesday.

    “There were also 164 people deported in May, 171 in March and another 171 in February.

    “In February and May, South Africa had deported 97 and 90 Nigerians respectively in midst of the xenophobic attacks.

    “We saw it to be a discriminatory at first but later realised they actually did commit immigration related offences causing them to be deported by the South African authorities,” she said.

    She added that Nigerians should remain in the country to develop it so that they won’t lose out when Nigeria becomes better.

    “If everyone is leaving the county for greener pastures, who is expected to remain in Nigeria to develop it; anyone who doesn’t grow in the system will lose out when the country becomes better.

    “Imagine a scenario where a young man graduates from the university then leaves Nigeria in search of greener pastures but after arriving, fails to succeed in the new land.

    “He realises that things are not as fabulous as portrayed in movies as these countries have tougher systems, especially because he doesn’t meet the requirements for career jobs in their country.

    “He spends time being too embarrassed and broke to return to Nigeria but finally gets deported after many years.

    “In that time, he has lost the opportunity to put his education to practice, develop productive skills and has lost contact with friends who would have helped him develop himself or place him in a prominent position.

    “Nigerians should learn to be hardworking and patient to see their hard work reap its benefits because riches don’t come overnight.

    “The countries they are running to didn’t develop overnight so you can’t expect to comfortably reap what you didn’t sew thinking the roads are paved with gold.

    “In summary, I will emphasise on the fact that there is no place like home so I hope Nigerians learn from these numerous Nigerians that have been brought back home.

    NAN reports that there has been a minimum of 1549 Nigerians sent back to Nigeria with exemption of the controversial 100,000 sent from Cameroon.

    Figures show there was a minimum of 23 Nigerians deported from Spain,187 from South Africa, 924 from Libya, 110 from Italy, 41 from the U.S, 146 from the UK and 118 from six other European countries.

    The countries include Austria, Germany, Hungry, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark.

  • 41 Nigerians deported from Germany, Switzerland, four others

    41 Nigerians deported from Germany, Switzerland, four others

    At least 41 Nigerians were on Thursday deported from six European countries for immigration and related offences.

    The deportees came from Austria, Germany, Hungry, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark.

    A Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) source said the deportees comprised 35 males and six females.

    A Boeing 767-300series, Privilege Air with the registration number ECLZO from Austria that brought the deportees landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at 12:05 p.m.

    The immigration source said the 41 people were deported for overstaying in the European countries.

    They were picked from different cities in the six countries.

     

     

  • South Africa deports 90 Nigerians

    The South African government has deported 90 Nigerians for committing immigration-related offences.

    The spokesman of the Lagos Airport Police Command, DSP Joseph Alabi, disclosed this on Friday.

    He said the deportees landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 3.30 p.m.

    He said the people were brought back to Nigeria aboard a South African Airways aircraft with registration number BBB712 from Johannesburg.

    “This afternoon, about 3.30 p.m., 90 Nigerians were deported from South Africa for committing immigration-related offences.

    “Some of them were alleged to be living in the country without valid documents.

    “They were received by the appropriate agencies including the police and profiled before being allowed to depart to their respective destinations,” Alabi said.

    NAN

  • 43 deported Nigerians arrive from Europe

    43 deported Nigerians arrive from Europe

    Forty-three Nigerians deported from Italy, Germany and Belgium last night arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

    They were deported for immigration and other offences, according to officials.

    Security officials escorted them on the flight.

    The deportees arrived aboard an Airbus 330 marked CS-TQW.

    It touched down at the airport at about 8.50p.m.

    Officials of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other agencies, including the Police, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Department of State Services (DSS), were on hand to receive them.

    A source said 33 of them were deported from Italy, three from Germany and seven from Belgium.

    Deputy Director Search and Rescue, NEMA Dr. Bandele Abdulahi Onimode, who represented the agency’s Director General, Alhaji Mohammed Sidi, confirmed that 43 people were deported.

    After documentation, the deportees were hurried into a bus and driven off.

    A mild drama played out as most of the deportees covered their faces with jackets to avoid being photographed.

    Onimode said the deportees were brought back home for immigration and other offences.

    He urged the deportees to wake up to the realities of life after the sad experience.

  • 140 Nigerians deported from Libya

    140 Nigerians deported from Libya

    140 Nigerians were on Tuesday deported from Libya for immigration and sundry offences.

    The deportees arrived the country in a chartered aircraft that landed at the cargo section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    According to immigration sources, 74 of the deportees are adult females, 52 adult males, three infants and six unaccompanied persons.

    The source said the return of the deportees was facilitated by cooperation between Nigeria and the International Office of Migration (IOM).

    Some of the deportees narrated their ordeal in Libya.

    Shortly after alighting from the aircraft, the deportees were documented by relevant security agencies before they were ferried out of the airport by buses provided by emergency relief organizations.

  • Spain deports 23 Nigerians for committing various offences

    The Spanish Government on Tuesday deported 23 Nigerians for committing various offences in the country, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    They were deported barely five days after 34 Nigerians were sent home from six European countries for committing immigration-related offences.

    NAN reports that 34 Nigerians were jointly deported by six European countries on June 22 for committing immigration-related offences.

    The deportees were sent back home from Switzerland, Germany, Iceland, Austria, Belgium and Hungary.

    NAN gathered that the new set of deportees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMlA) Lagos, at about 6.40 a.m on Tuesday.

    The new deportees, comprising 21 males and two females, were brought back in a privilege style aircraft with registration number EC-IZO.

    DSP Joseph Alabi, the spokesman of the Lagos Airport Police Command, confirmed the development to NAN.

    Alabi said that the deportees were received by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.

    He said that others also on ground to receive them were officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

    According to him, nine of the deportees, who were deported for drug-related offences, were handed over to the NDLEA.

    He said that two others, who were deported for criminal offences, were handed over to the police.

    Alabi said that the remaining 12 deportees, accused of breaching the country’s immigration rules, were profiled and allowed to go to their respective destinations.