No less than 34,000 Nigerians have applied for asylum in Europe between January and August 2017 with about 2,270 dying in the in the Mediterranean Sea according to theUNHCR Representative in Nigeria, Antonio Jose Canhandula.
Canhandula disclosed this on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ forum organized by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with the theme, “Developing a mixed migration strategy for UNHCR Nigeria” in Abuja.
Also speaking at the event, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, Abike Dabiri Erewa, disclosed that the Federal Government in collaboration with the International Office for Migration (IOM) have ensured the return of over 7,000 Nigerian immigrants from different European countries.
She also disclosed that Germany is in the process of deporting about 30,000 Nigerian asylum seekers. “Germany said it has about 25,000 to 30,000 Nigerians seeking asylum and they can’t guarantee they will get it. So, there is every possibilities that they will be returned to Nigeria,” she said.
She, however, acknowledged that economic hardship, poverty, insecurity, poor governance, ignorance and inadequate job opportunities as major causes of movement of the people to other parts of the world.
