The UK deported a record number of Nigerians and Ghanaians on a single flight, with 44 individuals forcibly removed on Friday, October 18, as confirmed by the Home Office.
According to The Guardian, these deportations to Nigeria and Ghana are part of a significant increase in immigration enforcement and returns. Since the Labour government took office in July, approximately 3,600 people have been deported to various countries, including around 200 to Brazil and 46 on flights to Vietnam and Timor Leste. Regular deportation flights also continue to Albania, Lithuania, and Romania.
Flights to Nigeria and Ghana are less common, with only four occurring since 2020, based on data obtained through freedom of information requests. Previous flights had smaller numbers of deportees, ranging from six to 21 people. The latest flight, however, deported more than double the previous highest number.
This deportation occurred alongside news that any asylum seekers arriving in Diego Garcia before the UK finalizes a treaty with Mauritius to return the Chagos Islands will be sent to Saint Helena, a remote British territory in the Atlantic Ocean.
Among those deported were Nigerians held at Brook House immigration removal center near Gatwick. One detainee attempted suicide, with a cellmate describing the incident as “very traumatising.” Another man, who had lived in the UK for 15 years as an asylum seeker with no criminal record, reported that his claim had been rejected by the Home Office.
Fizza Qureshi, CEO of Migrants’ Rights Network, who was in contact with some of the deportees before their removal, stated, “We are shocked by the cruelty of these deportations, particularly their speed, secrecy, and lack of legal support.” One detainee commented, “The Home Office is playing politics with people’s lives. We haven’t done anything wrong except ask for help.”
A Home Office spokesperson said, “We have initiated a major increase in immigration enforcement and returns to remove individuals with no right to remain in the UK, ensuring that immigration rules are upheld, with over 3,600 people deported in the first two months of the new government.”