UK Records 22,000 Nigerian Asylum Applications in 14 Years ….
Between 2010 and 2024, the United Kingdom received 22,619 asylum applications from Nigerian nationals, placing Nigeria 11th on the UK Home Office’s global asylum statistics list.
The data, released in the Home Office’s year-end Asylum and Resettlement report, shows that Nigerian asylum claims surged in 2024, with 2,841 applications—almost double the 1,462 recorded in 2023.
According to the Home Office, asylum applications across all nationalities in 2024 reached a record high of 108,138, driven by increasing instability in several countries. Nigeria’s jump in asylum figures has been attributed to a combination of rising insecurity, economic hardship, and political uncertainty.
Speaking to journalists, Charles Onunaiju, Research Director at the Centre for China Studies, Abuja, noted that the worsening socio-economic climate in Nigeria, especially for young people, has fuelled the desire to migrate at all costs.
“Nigeria is becoming increasingly inhospitable for young people. With limited opportunities, insecurity, and rising poverty, many now see migration, even through asylum, as their only option,” he said.
The Home Office explains that under UK law, asylum may be granted to individuals who demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group.
Local reports indicate that some Nigerian migrants initially enter the UK through study or skilled work routes but later seek asylum, citing reasons such as communal violence, kidnapping threats, political oppression, or discrimination based on sexual orientation. Others reportedly arrive irregularly through Europe.
Development economist Dr. Aliyu Ilias warned that the increasing number of asylum seekers includes a large share of trained professionals, resulting in a long-term brain drain.
“Nigeria spends a lot on training professionals, particularly in medicine and engineering,” Ilias said. “When they leave and settle abroad permanently, it reduces our GDP and weakens our development capacity.”
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Despite the implementation of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, which bars asylum claims from those arriving via safe third countries, most Nigerian applicants continue to be processed through the regular system. The UK government’s alternative Rwanda relocation scheme remains in legal limbo, delaying its execution.
Other top countries on the UK’s asylum list include Iran (75,737), Pakistan (57,621), Afghanistan (54,363), and Iraq (45,711). Nigeria’s figures place it ahead of Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and China.
As the migration debate intensifies, experts are calling on Nigerian authorities to urgently address domestic conditions fuelling emigration, particularly among the youth.
Content credit: Oyedepo Oluwafifedoyinsola
Image credit: www.cgdev.org
