400 Nigerians Deported from UAE Arrive in Abuja

Four hundred Nigerians have been deported from the United Arab Emirates and arrived in Nigeria, according to a report by the Nigerian Television Commission.

Officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, together with the National Agency for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons, received the deportees at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. , National Emergency Management Agency and other relevant stakeholders.

“Four hundred Nigerians, including 90 women and 310 men, have been deported from the United Arab Emirates to Nigeria.

They were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja by the Office of the National Security Adviser, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in collaboration with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons. , the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and other stakeholders,” the news media said in a Wednesday post on X.

PUNCH Online reports that the federal government repatriated a total of 190 Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates in July 2024.

Nigeria, United Arab Emirates Diplomatic Issues
Diplomatic tension between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates continues, with the UAE imposing a visa ban on Nigerians nearly two years ago, stemming from various diplomatic spats.

A key issue was Dubai’s Emirates Airline, which suspended flights to Nigeria after Nigeria’s central bank failed to pay $850 million in revenue to the UAE.

In June, the Nigerian government assured its citizens that the visa ban would soon be lifted after several rounds of negotiations with UAE officials. At the same time, Nigeria was reported to have paid 98 percent of the $850 million owed, indicating progress in resolving the dispute.

The deportation takes place in the midst of ongoing diplomatic hostilities between the two nations, which could have their origins in a number of unresolved issues. Nevertheless, earlier this year, reports suggested that the two nations had come to an agreement to remove travel restrictions for Nigerians. The government of the United Arab Emirates has declared that as of July 2024, Nigerians will no longer need a visa.