UK moves to end asylum delays, Nigerians on edge

The UK government has announced a major overhaul of its asylum appeals system in a move that could affect thousands of Nigerian migrants waiting for decisions on their cases.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said a new panel of independent adjudicators would be set up to speed up appeals, which currently take more than a year on average.

There are 51,000 pending appeal cases and 32,000 asylum seekers, including many Nigerians, still housed in hotels at taxpayers’ expense.

The UK has pledged to shut down asylum hotels before the end of this parliament, but local councils are pushing back, with protests erupting in towns like Epping after crime allegations involving asylum seekers.

For many Nigerians hoping to secure protection or regularise their stay, the new appeal body could mean faster rulings and potentially quicker deportations for those who lose their cases.

Cooper said the government was committed to ending hotel use but stressed it had to be done in “a properly managed way.”

The development comes as pressure mounts from the Conservatives and Reform UK for tougher measures, including mass deportations of irregular arrivals.