The United Kingdom Home Office received 22,619 asylum applications from Nigerian nationals between 2010 and 2024, according to findings by Podium News. Nigerians accounted for one in 30 UK asylum claims over the period, ranking 11th on the Home Office’s newly released year-end Asylum and Resettlement statistics.
Data showed that nearly twice as many Nigerians (2,841) applied for asylum in 2024 compared to 2023 (1,462). Overall, 2024 saw the highest number of UK asylum applications, with 108,138 people seeking refuge—a 378 per cent rise from 2010. Most claims came from South Asian and Middle Eastern nationals.
Iran led with 75,737 applications, likely due to increasing persecution of dissidents. Pakistan followed with 57,621, as 10,542 Pakistanis sought asylum in 2024 amid post-election turmoil and economic instability. Afghanistan ranked third with 54,363 applications since 2010, with 8,508 Afghans applying in 2024—a lingering effect of the Taliban’s 2022 takeover.
Other top countries included Albania (50,944), Iraq (45,711), Eritrea (37,687), Syria (34,997), and Bangladesh (31,744). Nigeria’s 22,619 claims placed it just ahead of Sri Lanka (22,059) and above Vietnam, China, and Turkey.
Analysts linked Nigeria’s rise to worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and the naira’s devaluation. Charles Onunaiju, Research Director at the Centre for China Studies, Abuja, stated, “Nigeria is becoming inhospitable, especially for young people with no opportunities, leading to desperation to go abroad.”
Reports suggest some professionals enter the UK through skilled worker visas but later apply for asylum, citing threats like kidnapping or political persecution under Nigeria’s cybercrime laws. Others arrive irregularly via Europe, invoking risks tied to sexual orientation or communal violence.
Under UK law, asylum seekers must prove a “well-founded fear of persecution” based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group membership. While the 2023 Illegal Migration Act bars claims from those arriving via safe third countries, legal challenges have stalled the UK’s Rwanda deportation plan, leaving most applicants in the regular system.
Dr. Aliyu Ilias, an Abuja-based economist, warned that the brain drain harms Nigeria’s economy. “We subsidize training for professionals like doctors and engineers, yet they leave permanently, reducing our GDP,” he said. “The UK asylum route, despite its uncertainty, still seems better than staying in Nigeria’s current conditions.”
