Nigeria, UK sign new deals on deportation without legal status, crime control
UK and Nigerian flag
… Everyone is expected to be a legal immigrant on both sides.
Nigeria and the United Kingdom have reached new agreements on deportations, visa processes, criminal justice cooperation, and financial crime at the 2025 Migration, Justice, and Home Affairs Dialogue.
The event, which took place in Abuja on Wednesday, was detailed in a joint communiqué signed by Ambassador Asari Allotey for Nigeria and Ambassador Asim Hafeez for the United Kingdom.
However, the communiqué was only released to journalists on Friday.
According to the communique, a key outcome was both countries reaffirming commitments to return individuals without legal status in each other’s territories.
“Returning those that no longer have a legal right to remain in the UK is a top priority for the UK Government,” the UK delegation stated.
Officials praised ongoing cooperation under the 2022 Migration Returns Memorandum of Understanding. Both sides agreed to “continue deepening this partnership to ensure safe, dignified and respectful processes.”
On visas, the UK updated Nigerian agencies on its e-visa rollout and promised support for Nigerian business travellers.
“The UK committed to updating Nigerian stakeholders on e-visa rollout to all visa categories at the next MJHA,” the communique said.
Nigeria agreed to share its own progress on the Nigeria e-visa, “in support of the UK’s development of its own e-visa initiative.”
A new Memorandum of Understanding on Organised Immigration Crime is expected soon, as both sides are committed to “working collectively to improve border and migration management capacity to reduce irregular migration flows.”
The UK also pledged to expand training for Nigeria’s immigration officers, saying it would “enable wider coverage and cascading of knowledge for enhanced responsiveness.”
On tackling organised crime, the countries agreed to work together on a Strategic Serious Organised Crime Threat Analysis.
“This historic agreement would be the first of its kind in West Africa and demonstrates the solid commitment between the two countries on combating serious organised crime,” the statement read.
The UK formally handed over the Brighter Futures PREVENT programme to Nigeria’s National Counter Terrorism Centre. The programme aims to steer vulnerable youth away from organised crime.
“Nigeria is committed to building upon the current momentum of the programme and updating on the programmes’ activities at the Federal and State level at the 2026 Dialogue,” the communique noted.
Nigeria also “urged for continued support for PREVENT beyond March 2026.”
On extradition, both sides agreed to “create smoother and faster processes to ensure that criminals do not enjoy impunity from justice in either jurisdiction.” The UK is committed to sharing information with its courts on Nigeria’s prison detention conditions, and quarterly meetings will now be held to monitor cooperation.
Prisoner transfer was also addressed. Nigeria called for a review of the agreement to reflect current laws, including the “Nigerian Correctional Services Act 2019,” and both countries agreed to clarify “the process, timelines, and expected conditions for detention of any prisoners transferred under the agreement.”
In the area of trafficking, both sides agreed to develop a new MoU targeting human trafficking and “strengthen inter-agency cooperation on commodities trafficking, particularly in the maritime domain.”
The UK reaffirmed support for Nigeria’s fight against illicit finance and backed a new Public-Private Partnership on financial crime.
“Both countries committed to working together to lead efforts towards a more coordinated global approach to countering illicit financial flows,” including efforts to “reform global financial centres” and “improve the regulation of professionals enabling kleptocracy.”
The next annual Dialogue will be held in the UK in 2026.
