Four hundred Nigerians, including 90 females and 310 males, have been deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and have arrived in Nigeria, according to a report by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
The deportees were received at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser, alongside other agencies.
“They were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by the office of the National Security Adviser in collaboration with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and other stakeholders,” the NTA reported in a post on Wednesday.
This deportation comes amidst ongoing diplomatic tensions between Nigeria and the UAE, which began nearly two years ago when the UAE imposed a visa ban on Nigerians following a series of diplomatic disputes.
A key factor in the tensions was the halting of flights by Dubai’s Emirates Airline to Nigeria after the Central Bank of Nigeria was unable to remit $850 million in revenue to the UAE.
In June 2024, after several rounds of negotiations, the Nigerian government assured its citizens that the visa ban would be lifted, announcing that 98 per cent of the $850 million owed had been paid. This was seen as a sign of progress toward resolving the dispute. In July 2024, the UAE government confirmed the lifting of the visa ban on Nigerians.
This deportation follows a previous repatriation of 190 Nigerians from the UAE in July 2024.
Despite efforts to mend ties, the deportations and unresolved tensions suggest that deeper diplomatic issues may still be at play between the two nations.