Over 2,356 Nigerians deported from India

The Government of India deported no fewer than 2,356 Nigerians between 2019 and 2024, with removals rising significantly in recent years, according to official data obtained from the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs.

Findings show that Nigerians accounted for the largest share of foreign nationals deported from India, representing nearly two-thirds of all removals carried out by the Foreigners Regional Registration Offices across seven major cities, including Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Amritsar, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.

In the most recent reporting period from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, Indian authorities deported over 2,331 persons, with Nigerians accounting for 63 per cent of the total number of foreign nationals removed from the South Asian country.

The figure places Nigeria ahead of neighbouring Bangladesh, which recorded 411 deportations, and Uganda, with 78 deportations within the same period.

Further breakdown of the data indicates that an average of over 120 Nigerians were deported monthly between 2023 and 2024, translating to approximately four deportations per day.

A review of available Ministry of Home Affairs data shows that the trend of Nigerians topping India’s deportation list is not new but has worsened over time.

In 2019, India deported 547 Nigerians out of a total of 1,233 foreign nationals removed, representing 44.3 per cent of all deportations that year.

In 2021, as international travel resumed after the COVID-19 pandemic, 339 Nigerians were deported out of 821 total removals, accounting for 41.3 per cent.

However, deportations surged from 339 in 2021 to 1,470 in the 2023–2024 fiscal period, representing a 333 per cent increase, while Nigeria’s share of total deportations rose from 44 per cent in 2019 to 63 per cent in 2023–2024.

Officials said most deportations were linked to expired visas and drug-related offences, with many of the affected individuals initially entering India on student visas before remaining in the country after their permits had lapsed.

Recent estimates put the number of Nigerians living and working in India at over 60,000, making it the largest West African community in the country.