AT least 2,356 Nigerians have been deported from India between 2019 and 2024, with removals surging dramatically in recent years, according to official data obtained from India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
News Point Nigeria reports that the figures, drawn from three separate MHA annual reports, show that deportations of Nigerians quadrupled from 339 in 2021 to 1,470 in the 2023–2024 fiscal year representing a staggering 333 per cent increase within three years.
In the most recent reporting period between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, Nigerians emerged as the most deported nationality from the South Asian country, accounting for 63 per cent of the 2,331 foreign nationals removed during the period.
The deportations were carried out by India’s Foreigners Regional Registration Offices across seven major cities, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Amritsar, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Nigeria ranked ahead of neighbouring Bangladesh, which recorded 411 deportations (17.6 per cent), and Uganda, which accounted for 78 removals (3.3 per cent).
On average, 122 Nigerians were deported monthly during the 2023–2024 period roughly four Nigerians every day.
A breakdown of earlier years shows that Nigerians have consistently topped India’s deportation chart.
In 2019, 547 Nigerians were deported out of 1,233 total removals representing 44.3 per cent of all deportations that year.
Although deportations declined globally in 2020 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, by 2021 the figures rebounded, with 339 Nigerians deported out of 821 total removals.
However, the sharp spike recorded in 2023–2024 marked the most significant escalation in recent years, pushing Nigeria’s share of deportations from 44 per cent in 2019 to 63 per cent.
Indian authorities attribute most deportations to visa overstays and drug trafficking offences.
According to the MHA report, deportation often results from entering India without valid documentation or remaining in the country after visa expiration. Many Nigerians reportedly entered India on student visas that later expired.
Data from India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) further revealed that 106 Nigerians were arrested in 2024 for drug trafficking offences, making them the second-highest group of foreign nationals implicated after Nepalese citizens.
In December 2025, Indian authorities deported 32 Nigerians following a large-scale multi-state narcotics raid in Delhi. The operation involved over 200 officers and targeted an alleged transnational drug trafficking and money-laundering syndicate.
Fifty Nigerians were arrested during the coordinated raids across Delhi, Greater Noida, Gwalior and Visakhapatnam. Of the suspects, 32 were deported within 10 days, while seven remain in custody facing prosecution.
In Hyderabad, specialised narcotics enforcement units disclosed that 35 Nigerians were deported between 2022 and 2025, with 20 linked to drug trafficking and 15 for overstaying without valid documents.
The western state of Goa earlier disclosed that approximately 650 Nigerians were deported from the state between 2019 and 2022.
In April 2025, India’s Parliament passed the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, replacing four colonial-era immigration laws.
The new legislation, which took effect on September 1, 2025, prescribes penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment or fines of 500,000 rupees (approximately N4.3 million) for unauthorised entry or overstaying.
It also mandates the establishment of holding centres in every Indian state and requires educational institutions to report foreign student admissions to immigration authorities — a move widely interpreted as tightening oversight on international students, including Nigerians.
The surge in deportations comes against the backdrop of strengthening diplomatic and economic ties between Nigeria and India.
President Bola Tinubu attended the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deepen bilateral cooperation in defence, agriculture, trade and investment.
In November 2024, Modi paid his first official visit to Nigeria in 17 years. During the visit, he was conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), Nigeria’s second-highest national honour.
Both countries signed three Memoranda of Understanding covering cultural exchange, customs cooperation and survey collaboration.
India has invested an estimated $27 billion cumulatively in Nigeria, with over 200 Indian companies operating locally. Bilateral trade stood at $7.89 billion in 2023–2024.
However, security concerns have also shaped the relationship. In November 2024, both countries convened a Strategic and Counter-Terrorism Dialogue addressing organised crime, terrorism and illicit activities, including those linked to irregular migration and drug networks.
Meanwhile, deportation pressures are mounting from the United States, where 19 additional Nigerians have been added to the Department of Homeland Security’s “worst of the worst” criminal list.
The latest update raises the total number of Nigerians slated for deportation from the US to 113.
The individuals were convicted of offences ranging from sexual assault of a minor and fraud to assault, drug trafficking and money laundering.
According to the US Department of Homeland Security, the convicts were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and will be deported upon completion of immigration procedures.
The crackdown forms part of a broader US campaign targeting criminal and undocumented migrants.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has said it is prepared to receive deported Nigerians.
NiDCOM’s Director of Media and Corporate Affairs, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, disclosed that the Federal Government has established an inter-agency committee comprising the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NiDCOM, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and the Office of the National Security Adviser to coordinate responses to mass deportations.
Meanwhile, Research Director at the Centre for China Studies, Abuja, Charles Onunaiju, attributed the migration surge to limited economic opportunities at home.
“We have a challenge. Since Nigeria is becoming inhospitable, especially for young people with no opportunities, there is desperation to go abroad,” he said.
With over 60,000 Nigerians currently living and working in India forming the largest West African community in the country, the rising deportation figures raise pressing questions about migration management, diaspora conduct and Nigeria’s domestic economic realities.