Migration Deal Protects Nigerians, Guarantees Dignified Returns — Presidency

The Presidency says the migration partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom protects Nigerians’ interests and guarantees dignified treatment for returnees, dismissing what it described as widespread misinformation surrounding the agreement.

In a statement issued by the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga in Abuja yesterday, the government said the Memorandum of Understanding on immigration cooperation signed on the sidelines of President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to the United Kingdom had been misrepresented.

It said the pact signed by Nigeria’s minister of interior and United Kingdom’s secretary of state for the home department was designed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and facilitate safe, regulated migration between both countries, while also addressing irregular migration in line with their respective laws and international obligations.

It stressed that contrary to circulating claims, the agreement does not require Nigeria to accept foreign nationals.

“Nowhere in the 12-page memorandum is Nigeria required to accept foreign nationals other than Nigerians,” the statement said.

It added that any individual to be repatriated must undergo multiple levels of identification and verification, and where errors occur, such persons would be returned to the requesting country at that country’s cost.

According to the Presidency, the agreement provides that both countries would work together to ensure the dignified return of their nationals who do not, or no longer, have the legal right to remain in the territory of the other.

It emphasised that a key condition in the MoU is that returnees must be bona fide nationals and must be treated with dignity and respect, with full regard for their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Presidency also noted that law enforcement authorities in both countries are required to take necessary actions to protect the interests and well-being of citizens of either party and to mitigate potential conflict triggers arising from migration issues.

On the process of return, the statement referenced Article 9 of the agreement, which sets out detailed conditions governing repatriation.