The United Kingdom’s Home Office says a total of 22,619 asylum applications from Nigerian nationals between 2010 and 2024.
Nigerians made up one in every 30 UK asylum claims during this period, placing Nigeria 11th on the Home Office’s newly published Asylum and Resettlement statistics.
The data as seen in The Punch, shows a significant rise in Nigerian asylum claims in 2024, with 2,841 applications, almost double the 1,462 recorded in 2023.
Overall, 2024 marked a record-breaking year for asylum claims in the UK, with 108,138 people seeking refuge, an increase of 378% from 2010. The majority of these were first-time claims, primarily from nationals of South Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Iran topped the list with 75,737 applications, attributed largely to the ongoing persecution of dissidents. Pakistan followed with 57,621, driven by post-election instability, economic crisis, and rising blasphemy prosecutions. Afghanistan came next with 54,363, continuing a surge that began after the Taliban takeover in 2022.
Other notable figures include:
– Albania – 50,944
– Iraq – 45,711
– Eritrea – 37,687
– Syria – 34,997
– Bangladesh – 31,744
Most Nigerians confronting both economic headwinds and deteriorating security at home had to embrace the British asylum route because of the better prospects it provides.
