At least 13,171 Nigerian asylum applications were rejected by the Canadian government between January 2013 and December 2024, according to a report by Sunday PUNCH. This figure includes 811 Nigerians whose claims were denied in 2024 alone. Data from the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada ranks Nigeria among the top five countries with the highest number of rejected asylum claims, placing it in 5th position. The other countries with significant rejections include Mexico (2,954), India (1,688), Haiti (982), and Colombia (723).
For refugee protection claims to be approved, Canada must establish that the applicant faces a risk of torture, threats to life, or cruel and unusual treatment if returned to their home country. Asylum seekers typically submit their claims upon arrival at a Canadian port of entry by notifying the Border Services Agency or reporting to an immigration officer.
“The officer determines whether the claim qualifies for referral to the IRB (Immigration and Refugee Board). If deemed eligible, it is forwarded to the RPD (Refugee Protection Division) to initiate the refugee protection process,” according to the Refugee Board’s application guidelines.
During the review period, 94 Nigerian asylum claims were abandoned. The RPD explained that a claim might be abandoned if the required Basis of Claim Form was not submitted on time, the applicant failed to provide up-to-date contact information, or they missed their refugee protection hearing. Additionally, 78 claims were withdrawn, meaning the applicants voluntarily discontinued their requests, while 19,889 applications remain pending.
A yearly breakdown of rejections since 2013 indicates that 127, 241, and 248 Nigerians were denied refugee protection in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively, following the introduction of a new refugee claim assessment system in December 2012. Rejections rose in subsequent years, with 476 cases denied in 2016, 917 in 2017, and 1,777 in 2018. The highest number of denials occurred in 2019, with 3,951 Nigerian asylum seekers rejected.
The trend continued with 1,770, 1,686, 728, 439, and 811 denials recorded in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively. Despite these rejections, 10,580 Nigerians were granted refugee status over the same period, including at least 2,230 approvals between January and December 2024. Nigeria ranked 8th among the top 10 countries with the highest number of approved asylum claims during the review period.
Source : https://punchng.com/
