LAGOS – Nigeria’s foreign minister has raised alarm over mounting pressure from the United States on African countries to accept deported Venezuelans, some of whom are ex-convicts, saying the country is not in a position to take them in.
Speaking from Brazil during a BRICS summit, Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar told Channels TV on Thursday that the Nigerian government had been approached with the request but found it untenable. He pointed to the country’s own economic and social challenges as reasons for its refusal.
“You have to also bear in mind that the U.S. is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans to be deported from the U.S., some straight out of prison,” Tuggar said. “It will be difficult for a country like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria. We have enough problems of our own.”
The issue came to light following a recent White House meeting where U.S. President Donald Trump hosted five African leaders—Liberia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon—and reportedly asked them to consider accepting non-African migrants when deported from the United States. The Wall Street Journal later revealed that the U.S. State Department had circulated a document requesting African governments to support the “dignified, safe, and timely transfer” of third-country nationals.
Trump’s administration has made aggressive moves to fast-track deportations since his return to office in January, including rerouting migrants to third-party countries when repatriation to their country of origin faces delays.
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