UK Records 22,000 Nigerian Asylum Seekers

The United Kingdom Home Office has received over 22,619 asylum applications from Nigerian nationals from 2010 to 2024.

This is as Nigerians accounted for one in 30 UK asylum claims over the period, ranking 11th on the Home Office’s newly released year-end Asylum and Resettlement statistics.

According to the Home Office, nearly twice as many Nigerians (2,841) applied for asylum in 2024 as in 2023 (1,462).

Overall, 2024 saw the highest number of asylum applications to the UK, with 108,138 people, a 378 per cent rise from 2010. Most were first-time claims by South Asian and Middle Eastern nationals.

Iran topped the chart with 75,737, likely propelled by the increasing persecution of dissidents by the Iranian regime. Pakistan followed far behind with 57,621. 2024 saw 10,542 Pakistanis claiming asylum in the UK, driven by post-election turmoil, soaring inflation and a spike in blasphemy prosecutions that human rights groups say offer substantial grounds for protection claims.

Afghanistan trailed with 54,363 asylum applications since 2010. In 2024, 8,508 Afghans sought refuge in the UK, a development that pundits argue is the continued aftermath of the Taliban ousting of the Karzai administration in 2022. That year, 11,358 Afghans sought asylum in the UK, with 9,710 applications the following year.

Others are Albania (50,944), Iraq (45,711), Eritrea (37,687), Syria (34,997) and Bangladesh (31,744). Asylum seekers from Bangladesh rose from 5,097 in 2023 to 7,225 in 2024. The surge coincided with the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Sudan and India round out the top ten with 30,897 and 30,179, respectively.

Nigeria’s 22,619 filings sit just ahead of Sri Lanka’s 22,059 and above Vietnam, China and Turkey. Brazil, Kuwait, Yemen, Colombia and Jordan were at the lower end of the list, each contributing fewer than 6,500 claims.

Analysts attribute Nigeria’s leap on the list to harsh conditions such as insurgency, bandit attacks, kidnapping and collapsing household purchasing power following the naira’s devaluation in 2023.

In an interview with our correspondent, Charles Onunaiju, Research Director, Centre for China Studies, Abuja, argued, “We have a challenge. Since Nigeria is becoming inhospitable, especially for young people with no opportunities, there is desperation to go abroad.”

Local reports claim that young professionals who might once have entered the UK through skilled worker visas increasingly hedge their chances by applying for asylum once in the country; others arrive irregularly through continental Europe, citing kidnapping threats and communal attacks in their affidavits.

In most cases, the reports say, applicants also invoke political persecution under Nigeria’s sweeping cybercrimes legislation or discrimination tied to sexual orientation—categories that fall within the Refugee Convention’s protection grounds.

Under British law, an asylum seeker must demonstrate a “well-founded fear of persecution” on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, the Home Office explained on its website.

The Home Office makes initial decisions, and negative rulings can be appealed to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

Theoretically, the Illegal Migration Act 2023 makes those who arrive through a safe third country inadmissible.

However, the UK government’s proposed removal pathway—mainly its deal under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to transfer claimants to Rwanda—remains mired in legal challenges.

Therefore, most 2024 and 2025 arrivals continue to pass through the ordinary system.

Speaking with The PUNCH, Abuja-based development economist, Dr. Aliyu Ilias, argued that the exit of more Nigerians and their permanent settlement abroad means less skilled labour for the country.

He said with most Nigerians confronting both economic headwinds and deteriorating security at home, the British asylum route, however uncertain, still appears to offer a better prospect.

Ilias explained, “It’s definitely a cause of concern because this includes our professionals who are moving, and it takes a whole lot to train these professionals.

“In the medical sector, Nigeria subsidises a lot to get people trained. You cannot get trained as a medical doctor or an engineer abroad for a cheaper cost compared to what we get in Nigeria.

“So, it is total brain drain in the long run and for the economy, it is reducing our GDP. The appalling part is that most of our Nigerian brothers and sisters who go out do not return. They get permanent residency, and they become valuable to the immediate country.”