UK Records More Than 22,000 Asylum-Seeking Nigerians

The United Kingdom’s Home Office, from 2010 to 2024, processed 22,619 asylum applications from Nigerian nationals. Nigerians represented one in every 30 asylum claims in the UK during this period, placing them 11th on the Home Office’s newly published year-end Asylum and Resettlement statistics.

In 2024, Nigeria saw a notable surge in asylum applications, with 2,841 Nigerians seeking refuge, almost double the 1,462 claims in 2023. This contributed to a record total of 108,138 asylum applications to the UK in 2024, marking a 378% increase from 2010.

The majority of applicants were from South Asia and the Middle East, with first-time claims rising significantly.

Iran led the asylum charts with 75,737 claims, largely driven by the regime’s increasing persecution of dissidents. Pakistan came second with 57,621 claims, with 10,542 in 2024 alone, spurred by political instability, rising inflation, and escalating blasphemy prosecutions, which human rights groups argue provide valid grounds for asylum.

Afghanistan recorded 54,363 claims, with 8,508 in 2024, a trend many attribute to the aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover in 2022. Other nations with high asylum numbers include Albania (50,944), Iraq (45,711), Eritrea (37,687), Syria (34,997), and Bangladesh (31,744), where applications jumped from 5,097 in 2023 to 7,225 in 2024, possibly linked to political upheaval.

Sudan and India round out the top ten with 30,897 and 30,179 claims, respectively. Nigeria’s total of 22,619 applications places it just ahead of Sri Lanka’s 22,059 and ahead of Vietnam, China, and Turkey. Countries like Brazil, Kuwait, Yemen, Colombia, and Jordan had fewer than 6,500 claims each.

The Home Office states that to qualify for asylum under British law, applicants must show a “well-founded fear of persecution” based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Many Nigerian applicants cite political persecution under Nigeria’s cybercrime laws or discrimination related to sexual orientation, which are grounds under the Refugee Convention.

Initial decisions are made by the Home Office, with negative rulings subject to appeal in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.