UK deports record number of Nigerians and Ghanaians in single flight

Oct 19, 2024 Story by: Editor

A record number of Nigerians and Ghanaians were deported on a single flight, with 44 individuals forcibly removed on Friday, according to confirmation from the Home Office.

This comes as reports surface that any asylum seekers arriving at Diego Garcia before the finalization of a treaty between the UK and Mauritius regarding the return of the Chagos Islands will be sent to Saint Helena. This British territory, known for being one of the most remote places on Earth, is located in the Atlantic Ocean.

The treaty for the Chagos Islands is expected to be signed next year. However, around 60 Tamils, who have been stranded on Diego Garcia since 2021 and are engaged in a legal battle over their alleged unlawful detention, will not be included in the Saint Helena transfer . A judgment on their case is expected soon.

The number of asylum seekers arriving at Diego Garcia since 2021 has been in the hundreds, which pales in comparison to the tens of thousands of individuals crossing the Channel from northern France to the UK in small boats.

A Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian on Friday that the deportations to Nigeria and Ghana were part of a “major surge” in immigration enforcement and deportations.

Since Labour assumed power in July, 3,600 people have been deported to various countries, including around 200 to Brazil and 46 to Vietnam and Timor-Leste. Regular deportation flights have also been conducted to Albania, Lithuania, and Romania.

Deportation flights to Nigeria and Ghana have been relatively rare, with only four recorded since 2020, according to data obtained through freedom of information requests. The previous flights had much smaller numbers of passengers, with six, seven, 16, and 21 people, respectively. Friday’s flight had over twice that number, marking a significant increase.

The Guardian interviewed four Nigerians detained at Brook House immigration removal center near Gatwick before their deportation. One man, facing deportation, attempted suicide. His cellmate, who witnessed the event, described feeling "very traumatized" by the experience.

Another man said, "I’ve been in the UK for 15 years as an asylum seeker. I have no criminal record, but the Home Office has refused my claim."

A third individual revealed he had been exploited as a child and bore scars of torture on his body. “I told the Home Office I was a victim of trafficking. They rejected my claim,” he stated.

A fourth man explained that he had desperately sought legal assistance to challenge his removal but was unable to find a solicitor willing to represent him.

Fizza Qureshi , the chief executive of Migrants' Rights Network, who was in contact with some of the deportees before they were flown out, said, “We are extremely shocked at the cruelty of these deportations, especially with the speed, secrecy, and the lack of access to legal support. In the words of one detainee we spoke to before he was put on the flight: ‘The Home Office is playing politics with people’s lives. We have not done anything wrong other than cry for help.’”

A Home Office spokesperson reaffirmed, “We have already begun delivering a major surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity to remove people with no right to be in the UK and ensure the rules are respected and enforced, with over 3,600 returned in the first two months of the new government.”

On Friday alone, over 600 people crossed the Channel in small boats , according to Home Office statistics. A total of 647 individuals made the crossing in 10 boats, pushing the total number of crossings for the year to over 28,000.

These crossings followed tragic news from French authorities, who reported the death of a baby off the coast of Wissant in the Pas-de-Calais region on Thursday evening. Source: The Guardian