Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany has announced that the country is preparing to deport approximately 14,000 Nigerians who have been residing in Germany, News About Nigeria gathered.
This decision comes in response to a significant increase in initial asylum applications from Nigerians in 2023, coupled with a relatively low recognition rate.
Currently, around 12,500 Nigerians are in a state of tolerance in Germany due to the Nigerian government’s reluctance to admit individuals without the necessary identity documents.
Germany has seen Nigeria as one of the top ten countries of origin for asylum applicants. However, the proportion of Nigerian asylum applicants has recently started to decline.
The sudden surge in Nigerians filing initial asylum claims in 2023 has raised concerns. A large majority of these applicants lack the necessary identification cards, making their deportation a complicated process.
Chancellor Scholz emphasised the importance of cooperation between Germany and Nigeria to address this deportation situation during talks with Nigerian officials.
He stated that Germany is willing to work together to improve migration and is ready to repatriate Nigerian nationals who have behaved well.
Nigeria, on its part, is prepared to welcome back those individuals who have conducted themselves appropriately but stressed that cooperation should be mutually beneficial.
Nigeria’s response seems to include the idea that Germany should stop providing 640 million euros in development funding.
One major obstacle in this process is that Nigerian authorities do not currently accept documents issued by Germany as valid identification.
This issue was also discussed during the talks between Scholz and Nigerian officials. They aim to find common ground on this complex matter, taking into account the acknowledgement of asylum claims, the lack of identity documents, and the need for cooperation between the two nations.
