The Nigerian government has again stated that it will not participate in the United States President Donald Trump’s deportation deal.
The Nigerian Government, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized that it is rejecting Trump’s deportation deal due to pressing national security and economic concerns, distancing itself from other African nations that have agreed to accept foreign nationals deported from the United States.
This comes after the deportation deal was revived following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 23, 2025.
The deal allows the U.S. to deport individuals to third countries when their home nations refuse to accept them.
However, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, who confirmed the government’s stance stressed that Nigeria remains firm in its position,
Ebienfa said while countries like Rwanda, Eswatini, and South Sudan had opted to cooperate with U.S. deportation efforts, “Nigeria’s priorities differ”.
Ebienfa stated: “Even if other African countries are accepting deportees from the US, Nigeria will not accept them.
“We are a sovereign country and we make decisions only after fully analysing the implications for our national security.
“We have our issues we are struggling with. We will not allow ourselves to be pressured into accepting deportees, regardless of what other nations are doing.
“Our national interest, as it stands now, is not favourably disposed to accepting deportees from the American government.”
