Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom were the top destinations for Nigerian asylum seekers, but the majority of applications were rejected.
At least 36,934 Nigerians applied for asylum in foreign countries in 2024, fresh data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has revealed, underscoring the country’s worsening socio-economic crisis under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom were the top destinations for Nigerian asylum seekers, but the majority of applications were rejected.
According to the UN agency, 74 per cent of asylum claims were thrown out, with the highest approval rates only recorded in Chad and Tunisia.
In Canada alone, 13,222 Nigerians applied for asylum in 2024, but just 2,196 applications were approved. Italy received 4,292 applications, approving only 650.
In the UK — one of the most popular migration destinations for Nigerians — only 446 out of 2,841 applications were successful.
Other destinations included Ireland, which received 4,037 Nigerian asylum claims, and the United States, where 2,827 applications were filed but only 84 Nigerians were granted protection.
Thousands more applied in Germany, France, Egypt, the Netherlands, Cameroon, Cyprus, Belgium, Tunisia, South Korea, Chad, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Brazil, Mauritania, Austria, Portugal, Israel, South Africa, and Morocco.
A former Nigerian Ambassador to Singapore, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, said the exodus reflects the deepening poverty and instability in the country.
“The urge to travel out of the country is primarily a function of the performance of our national economy. The economic doldrums have pushed compatriots to get into the Japa mode,” he explained.
“The trend may, unfortunately, increase until there’s a turnaround in the performance of the national economy.”
Nigeria’s asylum surge comes despite repeated promises by the Tinubu government to stabilise the economy and curb inflation.
Unemployment, insecurity, rising cost of living, and a collapsing currency have continued to drive thousands of young Nigerians out of the country in search of survival.