The Presidency has clarified that Nigeria is not required to accept foreign nationals other than Nigerians in the 12-page Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two nations on the sidelines of President Bola Tinubu’s recent historic state visit to the United Kingdom.
Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga in a statement issued on Saturday said Nationals to be repatriated must have undergone multiple levels of identification and verification, and, where errors occur, they are returned to the requesting country at the requesting country’s cost.
According to him, the clarification became necessary to debunk the raft of misinformation assailing the migration partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.Onanuga explained that the memorandum on immigration cooperation, like other memoranda signed, aimed to strengthen the partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
He said Nigeria’s Minister of Interior and the Secretary of State for the Home Department of the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland signed the Migration MoU.
The presidential spokesperson emphasised that the MoU establishes a framework to facilitate a regulated and safe migration flow between the two countries and to encourage further bilateral cooperation in the fight against irregular migration and associated acts by citizens of each country, in accordance with their respective immigration and citizenship laws and extant internationaltreaties, conventions, protocols, agreements, and charters.
He noted: “Nowhere in the 12-page memorandum is Nigeria required to accept foreign nationals other than Nigerians.
“Nationals to be repatriated must have undergone multiple levels of identification and verification, and, where errors occur, they are returned to the requesting country at the requesting country’s cost.
“Under the agreement, Nigeria and the United Kingdom will work together to secure the dignified return of their nationals who do not, or no longer, have the right to enter or remain in the territory of the other country.A clear condition in the MoU is that the returnees concerned are bona fide nationals of the country and are treated with dignity and respect, with due regard to their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“Law enforcement officers in each country will take the necessary action to protect the interests and well-being of citizens of either party and to mitigate conflict triggers related to migration matters.”
Onanuga stressed that a key provision in the MoU is that the migrant to be returned must carry his legally acquired personal belongings to the country of destination, unlike in the past when migrants left with nothing.The presidential media aide stressed that another provision is that where a return is being considered, and the person has made a claim under relevant domestic or international human rights legislation, that claim would be considered in line with the provisions under the party’s respective domestic legislation.
Onanuga said the appeal may relate to circumstances in which the foreign nationals have been lawfully resident in the territory of the requesting party for most of their lives and socially and culturally integrated in the territory of the requesting party.
He noted that another ground of appeal may be where the nationals would face significant obstacles to their integration into the country to which they are to be deported.Onanuga pointed out that Article 9 of the MoU sets out the conditions for the migrant’s return.
“Before departure, identification checks will be carried out by the officers of the requested party in the territory of the requesting party and on arrival by the competent authorities of the requested party. The requesting party will coordinate all returns with the officers of the requested party.
“A return may be conducted by means of a scheduled aircraft or an aircraft chartered specifically for this purpose by the authorities of the parties; the requesting party will provide the flight details and particulars of each returnee five (5) working days before the date of return.
“A return will be conducted using an original, valid passport, or, if the requesting party can biometrically match11Should the parties’ domestic legislation regarding the provision of reintegration support to all or certain categories of returnees change, or should the overarching non-legally mandated package of reintegration support change, the parties will inform each other as soon as is practicable.”
The MoU, Onanuga maintained, was similar to those signed in 2012, 2017, and 2022, for an initial period of five years, renewable for a further five-year period, as may be agreed by the parties.
He reiterated that media organisations should seek clarification when uncertain about any issue to avoid misinforming the public.
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