India Deports 2,356 Nigerians in Five Years as Removals Surge
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The Government of India has deported no fewer than 2,356 Nigerians between 2019 and 2024, with official figures showing a sharp rise in removals over the last two years.
Data released by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs indicate that deportations of Nigerian nationals climbed significantly during the 2023–2024 fiscal year. Within that period alone, 1,470 Nigerians were removed — nearly four times the 339 recorded in 2021.
From April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, Nigerians accounted for about 63 per cent of all foreign nationals deported from India. More than 2,300 foreigners were expelled overall during the period, with Nigerians forming the largest group processed by immigration offices across cities including Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Amritsar, Bengaluru and Hyderabad
In comparison, Bangladesh ranked second with 411 deportations, followed by Uganda with 78.
A breakdown of the figures shows that an average of 122 Nigerians were deported monthly during the 2023–2024 cycle — roughly four individuals per day.
Officials attribute most deportations to visa violations and drug-related offences. Immigration authorities maintain that overstaying expired student visas remains a recurring issue among affected individuals.
India’s Narcotics Control Bureau reported that 106 Nigerians were arrested in 2024 for drug trafficking offences, placing them second among foreign nationals implicated in such cases after Nepalese citizens. Several deportations followed targeted anti-narcotics operations across Delhi and other major cities.
In December 2025, authorities removed 32 Nigerians after a coordinated crackdown on an alleged transnational drug network spanning multiple states. Other individual cases involved alleged visa overstays and suspected involvement in illicit drug distribution.
The surge in deportations comes despite growing diplomatic engagement between Nigeria and India. In September 2023, President Bola Tinubu attended the G20 Summit in New Delhi, where he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss trade, defence and agricultural cooperation.
Economic relations between the two nations remain substantial. Indian firms have invested an estimated $27 billion in Nigeria, while bilateral trade stood at $7.89 billion in the 2023–2024 period, down from the previous year due to reduced crude oil imports.
Meanwhile, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has reiterated that the Federal Government has established an inter-agency framework to manage and reintegrate citizens deported from foreign countries.
India hosts an estimated 60,000 Nigerians, making it home to one of the largest West African communities in the country.
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