A record-breaking deportation flight saw 44 Nigerians and Ghanaians forcibly removed from the UK on Friday, according to the Home Office. This deportation aligns with a broader increase in immigration enforcement and deportations under the current government. The Home Office confirmed that since the Labour government took office in July, 3,600 people have been deported to various destinations, including around 200 to Brazil and 46 to Vietnam and Timor Leste, with regular flights to Albania, Lithuania, and Romania.
Deportations to Nigeria and Ghana are infrequent, with only four flights recorded since 2020, and previous flights had significantly fewer people on board—ranging from six to 21. The latest flight marks a substantial increase, more than doubling the numbers seen on prior flights.
Amid these deportations, reports have emerged about asylum seekers arriving in Diego Garcia. The UK government plans to send any new arrivals there to Saint Helena, an isolated British territory in the Atlantic, until a treaty to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is finalized. However, the 60 Tamils stranded on Diego Garcia since 2021, who have claimed unlawful detention in a legal challenge, will not be part of the Saint Helena arrangement.
The media spoke to four Nigerians detained at Brook House immigration removal center before their deportation, with one man attempting suicide due to the distress. Another detainee, who had been in the UK for 15 years without a criminal record, had his asylum claim rejected. A third man, a victim of trafficking with torture scars, also had his claim dismissed. A fourth struggled to find legal representation to challenge his removal.
Fizza Qureshi, CEO of Migrants’ Rights Network, criticized the deportations for their speed, lack of transparency, and limited access to legal support. She cited a detainee who described the situation as “politics with people’s lives,” stating they had “done nothing wrong other than cry for help.”
A Home Office spokesperson emphasized the government’s commitment to enforcing immigration rules, with a significant increase in returns since taking power.
