Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, not too long ago hit the nail on the pinnacle of the UK-Nigeria troubling relations when he faulted the migration Treaty between Nigeria and the UK, warning that the Treaty can’t be enforced in its present type as a consequence of constitutional, authorized, and human rights issues.
The Treaty, signed throughout the state go to of President Bola Tinubu to the UK, is packaged to fast-track the return of Nigerians with out authorized residency standing, together with failed asylum seekers and overseas offenders. Central to the Treaty is the usage of the so-called “UK-Letters” rather than normal journey paperwork, alongside provisions for reintegration help.
Falana argues that the Treaty undermines due course of and lowers the edge for deportation by allowing removals with out correct verification of id or nationality. In keeping with him, reliance on casual documentation similar to “UK letters” raises the chance of wrongful or arbitrary deportations, in violation of established worldwide requirements.
He contends that the Treaty is inconsistent with the provisions of the Nigerian structure, notably the appropriate to truthful listening to, because it seems to permit deportations with out giving affected people ample alternative to problem their removing. The senior advocate affirms that bypassing established procedures for confirming citizenship may result in instances of mistaken id and illegal repatriation.
Falana factors out that the Treaty conflicts with Nigeria’s obligations below worldwide human rights devices, together with African Constitution on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Worldwide Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He stresses that the nation is required to uphold human dignity, guarantee entry to authorized cures, and forestall people from being returned to conditions the place they might face hurt.
Elevating further issues, Falana stated the coverage may infringe on the rights to household lifetime of Nigerians residing within the UK, lots of whom have established houses, careers, and households. He cited selections of UK courts, ZH (Tanzania) V. Secretary of State for the Dwelling Division and Huang V. Secretary of State for the Dwelling Division, which affirms that deportation selections should take into account the most effective pursuits of kids and be proportionate to the circumstances.
Affirming the dearth of transparency surrounding the Treaty, Falana notes that there isn’t a proof it has undergone legislative scrutiny or public debate within the nation. In a constitutional democracy, he argued, agreements affecting basic rights can’t be applied solely by government motion. He warned that some points of the Treaty could also be declared unlawful by Nigerian courts, notably the provisions permitting convicted individuals within the UK to serve jail sentences in Nigeria.
Falana identified that below Nigerian legislation, together with the Legal Code Act and the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, no particular person may be admitted right into a correctional facility with out a legitimate court docket order or warrant issued by a choose. He emphasised that the authorized framework in Nigeria doesn’t ponder the switch of overseas convicts into its jail system with out due judicial course of, cautioning that the nation should not turn out to be a vacation spot for individuals convicted overseas.
The human rights activist known as for a complete evaluate of the Treaty to make sure compliance with constitutional provisions and worldwide obligations. He careworn that for the Treaty to have the power of legislation in Nigeria, it should be domesticated by the Nationwide Meeting in accordance with Section12 (1) of the Nigerian structure.
Till such steps are taken, Falana insists that no Nigerian citizen ought to be subjected to arbitrary deportation below the guise of advancing the UK’s migration management targets. In 2024, roughly 52,000 Nigerians reportedly migrated to the UK, putting Nigeria among the many prime non- European Union sources of long-term immigration, pushed by work and examine visas.
Between 2010 and 2024, the UK reportedly recorded 22,619 asylum functions from Nigerian nationals, with numbers surging in 2024. There was a big surge of Nigerian-trained well being professionals transferring to the UK, with their numbers on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register reportedly rising to over 15,400 by March 2025.
The UK subsequently applied a rule banning most worldwide college students together with Nigerians, from bringing dependants to the UK, following information that 59,053 Nigerian college students introduced 60,923 family members to the nation. Reviews point out over 900 rejected asylum seekers and over 1,100 offenders could possibly be affected by this new UK immigration Treaty with Nigeria.
The partnership between Britain and Nigeria is complicated, longstanding, and ceaselessly described as “enigmatic”, or “troubled”, that includes each deep strategic cooperation and mutual suspicion.
Whereas formal relations are sturdy, with bilateral commerce reaching roughly $7.9bn in 2025, and new “Strategic Partnerships” signed, many observers argue that the UK’s actions usually are not persistently useful to Nigeria’s long run pursuits.
Many understand that the UK maintains a “neocolonial” maintain, making an attempt to maintain Nigeria as a enterprise middle fairly than a really sovereign accomplice. Elevated British restrictions on visas for Nigerians, together with bans on bringing dependants, have created a sense that the UK holds a “deep-seated disregard” for Nigerians.