By PMNEWS
Forty three individuals, including failed asylum seekers and convicted criminals have been deported from United Kingdom, UK, to Nigeria and Ghana, a report published on gov.uk website on Friday.
According to the report, those deported included 15 failed asylum seekers, 11 foreign national offenders who had completed their prison terms, and seven individuals who voluntarily agreed to return.
According to the report, the deportation was part of the ongoing border security measures tagged the “Plan for Change” by the UK Government.
The deportation was also the second to Nigeria and Ghana since the last general election.
With the latest deportation, the number of deportees sent to the two West African nations is now 87.
Authorities emphasised that all removals were conducted “in a dignified and respectful manner.”
The report also indicated that the deportation operation followed the Organised Immigration Crime Summit, where the UK convened over 40 countries, including Nigeria and Ghana, to intensify the global fight against smuggling gangs and secure international borders.
Since the current administration assumed office, over 24,000 individuals have been deported—a figure representing an 11% increase compared to the previous year. Deportations of foreign national offenders specifically rose by 16%, with 3,594 criminals removed from the country.
“This flight demonstrates how international partnerships deliver on working people’s priorities for swift returns and secure borders. Through the Plan for Change, we’re going further in restoring order to a broken system, accelerating returns of those with no right to be here and closing expensive asylum hotels,” Angela Eagle, the UK’s Minister for Border Security and Asylum said,
She expressed appreciation to the Nigerian and Ghanaian government for facilitating the deportations, stressing the mutual commitment to disrupting organized immigration crime.
“Working internationally is critical to tackling irregular migration. I welcome our strong cooperation with Ghana and Nigeria to return those with no right to be in the UK and deliver on the Plan for Change, ” Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Minister for Irregular Migration at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) added.
