The Government of India deported at least 2,356 Nigerians between 2019 and 2024, with removals rising sharply from 339 in 2021 to 1,470 in the 2023–2024 fiscal year.
Data obtained from India’s Ministry of Home Affairs showed that in the most recent reporting period, April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, Nigerians accounted for nearly two-thirds of all foreign nationals deported from the South Asian country. Out of 2,331 foreigners removed during the period, 63 per cent were Nigerians.
The deportations were carried out through Foreigners Regional Registration Offices in major cities including Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Amritsar, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Nigeria ranked ahead of neighbouring Bangladesh, which recorded 411 deportations, and Uganda with 78.
A breakdown of the figures indicates that an average of 122 Nigerians were deported monthly in 2023–2024, translating to about four persons daily. The trend marks a significant rise compared to previous years.
In 2019, India deported 547 Nigerians out of 1,233 total foreign nationals removed, representing 44 per cent. Deportations declined in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 258 foreigners removed between April and December of that year, and Nigeria did not rank among the top three nationalities.
However, by 2021, as global travel resumed, 339 Nigerians were deported out of 821 total removals. The latest figure of 1,470 in 2023–2024 represents a 333 per cent increase from 2021, while Nigeria’s share of total deportations rose from 44 per cent in 2019 to 63 per cent in 2023–2024.
Estimates put the Nigerian community in India at over 60,000, making it the largest West African population in the country. The rising deportations come despite strengthening diplomatic ties between Nigeria and India.
President Bola Tinubu visited India in September 2023 for the G20 Summit in New Delhi, where he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss defence, trade, agriculture and investment cooperation.
In November 2024, Modi paid his first visit to Nigeria in 17 years and was conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, Nigeria’s second-highest national honour.
Indian authorities said most deportations were linked to expired visas and drug-related offences. According to reports from India’s Narcotics Control Bureau, 106 Nigerians were arrested for drug trafficking offences in 2024, making them the second-highest group of foreign nationals implicated after Nepalese citizens.
In December 2025, Indian authorities deported 32 Nigerians following a multi-state narcotics operation in Delhi targeting an alleged transnational drug trafficking network. Additional deportations were also carried out in Hyderabad and other cities over visa violations and alleged criminal links.
In April 2025, India enacted the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, replacing four older laws and increasing penalties for unauthorised stay to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 500,000 rupees.
Despite the developments, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission said the Federal Government has put in place an inter-agency committee to manage cases of mass deportation and support affected citizens.
Indian companies have invested about $27bn in Nigeria, while bilateral trade stood at $7.89bn in 2023–2024, reflecting ongoing economic engagement between the two nations.
