Nigeria: UK Deports 43 to Nigeria, Ghana As Implementation of Border Security Plan Deepens

27 April 2025
This Day (Lagos)

The United Kingdom Government has deported 43 individuals, including failed asylum seekers and convicted foreign offenders to Nigeria and Ghana as part of its ongoing border security measures under the "Plan for Change."

According to a report published Friday on gov.uk, the deportees included 15 failed asylum seekers, 11 foreign national offenders who had completed their prison terms, and seven individuals who voluntarily agreed to return.

This marks the second deportation flight to Nigeria and Ghana since the last general election, raising the total number of deportees to these two West African nations to 87. Officials highlight that this reflects strengthening diplomatic ties and cooperation on immigration enforcement between the UK, Nigeria, and Ghana.

Since the current administration assumed office, over 24,000 individuals have been deported--a figure representing an 11% increase compared to the previous year. Deportations of foreign national offenders specifically rose by 16%, with 3,594 criminals removed from the country.

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Authorities emphasised that all removals were conducted "in a dignified and respectful manner."

Angela Eagle, the UK's Minister for Border Security and Asylum, commented, "This flight demonstrates how international partnerships deliver on working people's priorities for swift returns and secure borders. Through the Plan for Change, we're going further in restoring order to a broken system, accelerating returns of those with no right to be here, and closing expensive asylum hotels."

She thanked the governments of Nigeria and Ghana for their role in facilitating the deportations, stressing the mutual commitment to disrupting organized immigration crime.

Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Minister for Irregular Migration at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), added, "Working internationally is critical to tackling irregular migration. I welcome our strong cooperation with Ghana and Nigeria to return those with no right to be in the UK and deliver on the Plan for Change."

This deportation operation follows the Organised Immigration Crime Summit, where the UK convened over 40 countries, including Nigeria and Ghana, to intensify the global fight against smuggling gangs and secure international borders.

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