No fewer than 6,064 foreign nationals, mostly children, sought asylum in Nigeria between January and August 2023, The PUNCH has learnt.
Data obtained from the United Nations Human Rights Council, Nigeria, showed that most asylum seekers originated from Cameroon, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, Chad, Palestine and Sudan, where the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have fought since April 2023.
According to the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, 4,337 asylum seekers are from Cameroon, 843 from Syria, 271 from CAR and 261 from Sudan. They also include 88 Congolese, 35 Chadians, 33 Palestinians and 103 from other countries.
The Commission says 2,759 are children, while 1,602 and 1,703 are men and women, respectively.
Since August 2022, approximately 22,539 persons fled Cameroon to Nigeria, with the majority located in Madagali, Mubi North, Mubi South and Michika local government areas in Adamawa State.
As of August 31, 2023, only 4,095 of them have been registered by the UNHCR and NCFRMI as part of the response to the influx of asylum seekers from Cameroon, most of whom are fleeing protracted violence in the Ambazonian War between security forces and armed groups.
Cameroonian refugees are predominantly from the Northwest and Southwest regions of the country, affected by the conflict between the government and activists calling for the secession of the Anglophone regions.
According to rights groups, over 700,000 Cameroonians have been displaced since the war broke out in September 2017.
Furthermore, Nigeria registered an influx of 6,366 urban refugees from January to August 2023.
These refugees were from Cameroon (1,643), Niger (1,439), Central African Republic (982), Democratic Republic of the Congo (676), Syrian Arab Republic (576), Türkiye (409), Mali (145), Côte d’Ivoire (136), Others (360).
The UNHCR says 2,468 are men, 1,682 are women and 2,216 are children, with the most being between 18 to 59 years old.
A closer examination of the data revealed that May 2023 saw the highest influx of refugees and asylum seekers.
Experts argue that the fallout in the Sudanese leadership tussle must have added to the refugees’ number due to the massive humanitarian crises that followed the months-long conflict.
More so, the events leading up to the toppling of the Karzai-led Afghan government by the Taliban in August 2022 turned millions of Afghans (and Syrians who sought refuge there) into refugees and asylum seekers overnight.
“Trends indicate a minimal desire for repatriation among urban refugees (only two repatriated over a three-year period),” the United Nations said.
As a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention, Nigeria grants refugee status and asylum to deserving parties fleeing persecution and conflict from their respective states.
In May 2019, the Nigeria Immigration Service produced the first set of Convention Travel Document—also called Refugee Passport—to be issued to refugees under the protection of Nigeria by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons.
The CTD enables affected persons to reside in Nigeria lawfully or any of the remaining 148 countries that are signatories to the treaty.
Experts argue that the growing number of refugees and asylum seekers heightens Nigeria’s security risks and puts enormous strain on its creaking infrastructure system.
A former Nigerian Ambassador to Singapore, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, said, “Nigeria is a signatory to the appropriate international instruments, conventions and treaties that grant favour to asylum seekers, especially those under persecution.
“And we’re aware of all of the people from Cameroon, where there’s some kind of civil unrest and agitation, Syria and Lebanon too. So, based on those international conventions, Nigeria is obliged to admit and grant them asylum to secure them from persecution.
“However, I think given the situation we face in Nigeria, the relevant agencies should have their eyes peeled to watch out for people who might be used to infiltrate the Nigerian space for any negative objectives and agenda.”
