A recent history of repatriations

In the past six months, not less than 138 Nigerians alleged to have committed various immigration offences have been repatriated from the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Australia. Beginning in November 2015, 50 Nigerians were deported from the United Kingdom. The deportees, who consisted of 44 men and 6 women, were flown into the cargo terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on a chattered B767.

Again in April 2016, the UK and Switzerland jointly deported 48 Nigerians. Just last week, the country welcomed another 40 UK and Australia deportees. The latest arrivals, 33 men and 7 women, were flown to the Hajj Camp area of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in two chattered flights and were screened by Nigerian immigration and security officials at the airport.

As more Nigerians are deported, it may become more difficult to breach immigration rules in the UK, thanks to the new visa policy announced in 2013

 

Another set of recent deportees. Photo: dailytrust.com

Another set of recent deportees. Photo: dailytrust.com

How many more to be deported

29,000, perhaps. According to a Premium Times report, the Nigeria High Commission in London in October 2015 noted that the UK government has placed a deportation tag on that many Nigerians. The recent wave of repatriations shouldn’t be a surprise.

As more Nigerians are deported, it may become more difficult to breach immigration rules in the UK, thanks to the new visa policy announced in 2013. The policy affecting Nigeria and some other African and Asian countries requires visitors to the UK aged 18 and above to provide a cash bond of £3,000 for a six-month visa. Such visitors will forfeit the money if they overstay in the country after their visas expire. The new regulation was implemented to discourage overstaying and recoup costs of foreigners using UK public services.

Despite protests by the federal government of Nigeria and other countries affected at the time the plan was announced, the UK government, according to Financial Times, carried through with the plan particularly for visitors considered ‘high risk’, though The Telegraph reported differently.

The Telegraph also reported that a plan by the European Union (EU) to deport thousands of African migrants who have destroyed or lost their paperwork may have been cancelled after protest from African leaders. The plan, which the African Union’s ambassador to the EU, Ajay Bramdeo, said was unprecedented in international law, would have seen migrants with improvised passports deported to African countries determined by the EU, the report added.

In any case, going by current trend, it would appear that Nigeria needs to brace itself for these periodic repatriations, particularly from the UK.