The Presidency has clarified that Nigeria’s agreement with the UK to receive deported persons without valid residency status does not include foreign nationals.
KanyiDaily had reported that those to be deported include failed asylum seekers, convicted offenders, and people who overstayed their visas.
There had been uncertainty about whether only Nigerians would be affected.
In a statement released on Friday, Temitope Ajayi, the president’s senior special assistant on media and publicity, clarified that the arrangement applies strictly to Nigerian citizens who do not have legal permission to stay in the UK.
“Nigerian government is not taking back non-Nigerians. The UK government is not compelling Nigeria to take those who are not our citizens,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi said the clarification was necessary to address misleading information.
“The agreement guarantees that returnees who are citizens of Nigeria will be treated with dignity, rights retention under domestic law, and may re-enter in the future if they meet the applicable immigration requirements,” he added.
Alao Babatunde, media adviser to the interior minister, also confirmed that the agreement only applies to Nigerians and excludes foreigners.
As part of the arrangement, Nigeria will now accept UK-issued letters as a form of identification for people without passports, making it easier to process their return.
In the past, emergency travel documents were used for this purpose.
The interior minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo also stated that each case will be handled individually, with proper identity checks carried out before any deportation.
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