The Government of India expelled no fewer than 1,470 Nigerians between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, according to figures obtained from India’s Ministry of Home Affairs.
The statistics indicate that Nigerians topped the list of deported nationalities, making up nearly two-thirds of all foreign nationals removed from the South Asian nation during the 2023–2024 fiscal year.
In total, more than 2,331 foreign nationals were deported within the period, with Nigerians accounting for 63 per cent of all removals carried out by the Foreigners Regional Registration Offices in seven key cities — Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Amritsar, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Nigeria ranked ahead of Bangladesh, which recorded 411 deportations (17.6 per cent), and Uganda with 78 deportations (3.3 per cent).
The figures translate to an average of 122.5 Nigerians deported monthly — approximately four persons per day — throughout the one-year period. Uganda was the only other sub-Saharan African country among the top three nationalities affected.
The deportations occurred despite improving diplomatic engagement between Nigeria and India.
President Bola Tinubu travelled to India in September 2023 for the G20 Summit in New Delhi, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deliberate on cooperation in defence, agriculture, trade and investment.
In November 2024, Modi paid a two-day visit to Nigeria — his first to the country in 17 years and the first by an Indian prime minister since 2007.
During the visit, he received Nigeria’s second-highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger, becoming only the second foreign dignitary after Queen Elizabeth II to be so honoured.
Both leaders endorsed three Memoranda of Understanding covering cultural exchange, customs cooperation and survey cooperation, while also reviewing the India-Nigeria Strategic Partnership launched in 2007.
Indian firms have cumulatively invested $27bn in Nigeria, with about 200 companies currently operating in the country.
Trade between both nations stood at $7.89bn in 2023–24, a decline from $11.8bn in 2022–23, largely attributed to reduced crude oil imports from Nigeria.
The Government of India linked most of the deportations to expired visas and drug-related offences.
The Ministry of Home Affairs report stated that deportations typically stem from entry without valid documents or overstaying visas, noting that many Nigerians initially arrived on student visas that later lapsed.
In December 2025, Indian authorities deported 32 Nigerians after a multi-state narcotics operation in Delhi conducted by the EAGLE anti-narcotics unit.
The crackdown targeted what officials described as a transnational drug trafficking syndicate.
Earlier, in November 2025, Hyderabad police deported Onyeukwu Victor, who entered India on a student visa in 2021 but overstayed after it expired in 2024.
The Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing alleged that he coordinated drug supplies to customers in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, although no drugs were recovered from him at the time of arrest.
Similarly, Victor Obasi was deported from Hyderabad in January 2026 over illegal stay and alleged links to drug trafficking.
Indian authorities described his continued presence as “a potential threat to public safety and national security.”
The coastal state of Goa has been particularly active in enforcing deportations.
In October 2022, Goa Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant, revealed that about 650 Nigerians were deported from the state between 2019 and 2022 as part of efforts to combat drug trafficking and visa overstays.
“Earlier 700 Nigerians were staying illegally, now only 50 are remaining. We could deport them,” Sawant said, adding that the Federal Home Ministry had directed other states to establish similar detention facilities for foreigners.
India recorded 9.84 million foreign visitors between April 2023 and March 2024. Bangladesh accounted for the highest number at 2.1 million arrivals, followed by the United States (1.7 million) and the United Kingdom (900,000). The top 10 countries made up 70.27 per cent of total arrivals.
Despite the deportation figures, Nigerians maintain a sizeable presence in India, with an estimated 60,000 residing and working in the country as of 2025, forming the largest West African community there.
Within the same 2023–2024 fiscal period, India granted 1,112 Long-Term Visas to minority communities from Pakistan and issued 1,699 citizenship certificates through federal and state authorities.
(PUNCH)
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