German government forcibly removing people to Nigeria

Stuttgart based migrant rights association Refugees4Refugees have brought attention to the forced removal of Nigerians by the German government.

Refugees4Refugees have been posting Deportation Alerts on their website when they get news of a scheduled deportation flight from Germany. 32 people were said to have been deported on a flight from Dusseldorf to Lagos on November 12, while The African Courier, a German based website reporting on the African diaspora, announced a further 40 Nigerians (including single mothers and their children), were forcibly removed to Lagos by German authorities on 21 October.

Rex Osa from Refugees4Refugees told The African Courier that deportees were simply dumped outside the gate of Lagos airport without any arrangement to receive them or plans for their transport to various destinations in the country.

Refugees4Refugees understands that asylum seekers are being detained ahead of their forced departures at camps such as Ellwangen in Baden Württemberg, where COVID outbreaks are suspected. A statement continued, “With Germany identified as a high-risk region and witnessing another partial lockdown that is affecting social and economic activities in the country, such a deportation may contribute to spreading the coronavirus in Nigeria.”

Deportees are said to have been handcuffed and their feet shackled for the entire duration of the 6-hour flight from Germany to Lagos.

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