Headline

‘Over 7,000 Nigerians Sought Asylum In Sweden In 24 Years’

Published

2 months ago

September 20, 2025

Nigerians filed over 7,646 asylum applications in Sweden between 2000 and 2024, according to official figures from the Swedish Migration Agency, Migrationsverket.

Data obtained by The PUNCH from the agency’s portal, covering the period, showed a consistent stream of Nigerian asylum seekers in the Nordic country.

A total of 6,783 asylum applications from Nigerian nationals were recorded between 2000 and 2021.

In 2022, there were 288 applications, followed by 200 in 2023, and 375 in 2024. Of the 375 applications received in 2024, 239 were first-time claims, while 136 were follow-up “extension” requests from persons whose temporary status was about to expire.

Women filed nearly two-thirds (159) of all first-time Nigerian claims, and half of every Nigerian applicant was between 25 and 44 years old, as no one over 64 applied in 2024.

Children accompanied 60 adult applicants, while one child travelled alone and registered as an unaccompanied minor.

Similarly, in 2023, there were 160 adults, 39 children in families, and one unaccompanied child among first-time asylum seekers from Nigeria.

Over the longer period from 2000 to 2021, a total of 132 unaccompanied minors from Nigeria applied for asylum.

The number of new applications for international protection peaked in 2003 at 452 and again in 2013 at 601, but the volume has never reached the scale of applications seen from countries experiencing internal conflicts.

Across Africa, Nigeria is among the top five countries of origin for asylum seekers in Sweden.

However, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Ethiopia far surpass it in numbers due to ongoing conflict and instability.

Somalia alone accounted for more than 54,128 applications since 2000, followed by Eritrea with over 39,000, then Sudan, Libya, Morocco, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Other countries include Uganda, Egypt, Cameroon, The Gambia and Burundi, Kenya, Algeria, Tunisia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, Zambia, Djibouti, Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, and single-digit applications from Benin, Niger, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and Mauritania. Nigeria, however, remains West Africa’s largest contributor of asylum seekers.

According to the reports, the migration from these countries is often directly tied to large-scale conflict and instability, a factor that distinguishes them from the lower, more consistent flow of applicants from Nigeria.

Swedish authorities say the distinction is significant as it enables a fast-track process for nationalities with historically high rejection rates, defined as a rejection percentage of 85 per cent or higher.

In 2024, Nigerian asylum seekers had an 88 per cent rejection rate while Colombians had 99 per cent.

Globally, the highest asylum grants in Sweden went to nationals of Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Ethiopia, Palestine, Ukraine, and stateless persons.

On the other hand, the highest denials were recorded among applicants from Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, Albania, Georgia, Mongolia, Russia, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

The Swedish government says it prioritises claims linked to war, persecution, or statelessness over applications driven by economic factors.

Sweden’s asylum regime is rooted in the Aliens Act (Utlänningslagen), which incorporates both EU asylum directives and the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

A successful applicant must demonstrate either refugee status (fear of persecution), eligibility for subsidiary protection (risk of serious harm in war or conflict), or humanitarian grounds such as severe illness or family reunification.

In recent years, however, Sweden has shifted toward more restrictive policies.

Since 2022, it has issued more temporary residence permits, limited family reunification programmes and tightened deportation enforcement.

Following the record influx of asylum claims in 2015, the Swedish parliament introduced a temporary emergency law that curtailed family reunification rights and made almost all new permits temporary. The main features were ratified in July 2021.

Under its 2023 Tidö Agreement, the current centre-right coalition, bolstered by the far-right Sweden Democrats, imposed “the EU’s minimum level” of protection, which uses tougher naturalisation and welfare rules as explicit deterrents.

To be granted asylum in Sweden today, an applicant must clear at least one of the classic Geneva or EU thresholds—fear of persecution, risk of torture or death, or indiscriminate violence—or demonstrate “exceptionally distressing” humanitarian circumstances.

Meanwhile, Abuja-based development economist Dr Aliyu Ilias, reasoned that the exit of more Nigerians and their permanent settlement abroad meant a loss of skilled labour for the country.

He said that with Nigerians battling economic headwinds and deteriorating security at home, the asylum route, however uncertain, still appeared to offer a better prospect.

“So, it is a total brain drain in the long run, and for the economy, it is reducing our GDP. The appalling part is that most of our Nigerian brothers and sisters who go out do not return,” he added.

Headline

UK Rejects Nigeria’s Request To Transfer Ekweremadu

Published

1 day ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

The United Kingdom has rejected a request from the Nigerian government to transfer former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to Nigeria to complete his prison sentence.

Ekweremadu is serving time in a UK facility after he was found guilty in 2023 of plotting to harvest the kidney of a young man.

He received a jail term of nine years and eight months following the conviction, which stemmed from a high-profile organ-trafficking case that drew international attention.

With the latest decision, Ekweremadu will remain in the UK to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

Headline

Trump Blasts Ukraine For ‘Zero Gratitude’ Amid Talks To Halt War

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Ukraine again of lacking “gratitude” for Washington’s support against Russia’s invasion, as top US and Ukrainian representatives met in Geneva for talks on a proposal to halt the war.

“UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, also blasting European countries for not doing enough to stop the war, but offering no direct condemnation of Moscow.

His comments came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was meeting with top Ukrainian officials in a wintery Geneva Sunday to discuss the US president’s controversial 28-point plan for ending the nearly four-year conflict.

The Ukrainian delegation, headed by Andriy Yermak, also met with high-level officials from Britain, France and Germany in the Swiss city, as European countries scramble to have a seat at the table in the discussions.

Trump had given Ukraine until November 27 to approve the plan, but Kyiv wants changes to a draft that accepts a range of Russia’s hardline demands, including requiring the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday said he was “sceptical” a deal could be reached by that deadline.

The US president told reporters Saturday the proposal was not his final offer and he hoped to stop the fighting “one way or the other”, raising hopes that it would be possible to strengthen Kyiv’s position.

– ‘Ukrainian perspectives’ included –

A US official, who asked not to be named, told AFP that a number of meetings were held throughout the day Sunday, with the US and Ukrainian delegation holding “detailed discussions about the peace agreement”.

“It was productive and even conclusive in some areas,” the official said, adding that a second round of talks underway at the US mission in Geneva aimed at “ironing out the details of the agreement”.

By late Sunday afternoon, Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said the latest version of the US draft plan, which AFP has not seen, “already reflects most of Ukraine’s key priorities”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said on social media that the “American proposals may include a number of elements based on Ukrainian perspectives and critical for Ukrainian national interests”, hailing that “diplomacy has been reinvigorated”.

– Recognise European ‘centrality’ –

The US plan was drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies, who were striving Sunday to make their voices heard and boost Kyiv’s position.

“Ukraine must have the freedom and sovereign right to choose its own destiny. They have chosen a European destiny,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, stressing that the “centrality” of the European Union’s role must be “fully reflected” in any peace plan.
Ukraine’s European allies gathered at the G20 summit in South Africa stressed that the US plan requires “additional work”.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb told AFP that he and Italian leader Giorgia Meloni had called Trump early Sunday to discuss his Ukraine proposal.

“Of course, we discussed the situation, the 28-point plan, and some of the developments here in Johannesburg related to the peace plan,” he said, declining to reveal the content of the discussions.

French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference at the G20 that the plan contained points that had to be more broadly discussed as they concerned European allies, such as Ukraine’s NATO ties and Russian frozen assets held in the EU.

He said the 30 countries in the “coalition of the willing” supporting Kyiv will hold a video call on Tuesday following the Geneva talks.
European Union countries were also planning to meet to discuss the Ukraine situation on the sidelines of a meeting with African leaders in Angola on Monday.

– ‘Wish list’ –

Questions were meanwhile being raised over how much input Moscow may have had in drafting the original proposal, which was welcomed by the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.
Ahead of Sunday’s talks, Washington insisted the Trump proposal was official US policy, denying claims by a group of US senators that Rubio told them the document was a Russian “wish list”.

Rubio himself insisted on social media late Saturday that “the peace proposal was authored by the US”.

“It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”
That did not calm all concerns.

“Together with the leaders of Europe, Canada and Japan, we have declared our readiness to work on the 28-point plan despite some reservations,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X Sunday.

“However, before we start our work, it would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where was it created.”

Headline

Pope Leo XIV Demands Immediate Release Of 315 Abducted Niger Students, Teachers

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2025

Editor

Pope Leo XIV has appealed for the immediate release of 315 people abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger State.

Speaking on Sunday, the Pontiff expressed deep distress over the mass kidnapping, which included students, teachers, priests, and other members of the Catholic community.

“I received with profound sorrow the news of the abduction of priests, faithful, and schoolchildren. I make a heartfelt plea for the swift and unconditional release of all those being held,” Pope Leo XIV said.

The attack occurred in the early hours of Friday when armed men reportedly invaded the private Catholic school in a well-coordinated operation.

According to local sources, the assailants arrived in large numbers, riding on more than 60 motorcycles and supported by a van, before forcing their way into the premises.

During the assault, the school’s gatekeeper was shot and left critically injured.

A resident of Agwarra confirmed the incident, noting that the exact number of abducted students has yet to be verified.

IPOB kicks against Nnamdi Kanu’s transfer to Sokoto prison
“It happened between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.. The number of students taken is still unclear,” the source said.

Another community source added that several teachers were also seized during the raid, raising further concerns about the scale of the attack and the safety of the victims.