The Nigerian government has affirmed that it will not accept the President Donald Trump administration’s proposal to force a controversial asylum deal on it, which was one of the reasons Nigeria was slammed with new visa restrictions.
According to multiple sources, the U.S. had proposed to ship some undocumented migrants in the US to some African countries, including Nigeria, pending the decision of their case, which could take up to seven years. And the immigrants are not Nigerian citizens.
But Nigeria rejected the offer.
This fallout is reportedly part of the deeper tension driving Trump’s new visa restrictions on Nigerians. Under the updated policy, most Nigerian visitors now only get single-entry visas valid for 90 days, down from multiple years previously.
Venezuelan prisoners
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, confirmed the reports, clarifying that most of the US deportees are even Venezuelan criminals, stressing that Nigeria won’t be a dumping ground for foreign criminals.
“It would be difficult for countries like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria,” Tuggar said while speaking on a Channels TV programme on Thursday. “We have enough problems of our own; we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria. We already have 230 million people.”
Tuggar also clarified the visa restrictions and the reciprocity issue.
He said, “What Nigeria has done that differs is simple. We used to have a visa on arrival, but that wasn’t running efficiently. We introduced online electronic visas that you can apply for, saving you time by eliminating the need to arrive and then go through the visa process.
“The same way I am talking to you on my laptop, I can just simply apply for a Nigerian visa, you get it, and then you fly, and so it makes it easier. This is what we’ve done.
“We have different categories of visas; there are people who are first-time travellers that are coming as tourists that are probably not likely to come back to Nigeria again, maybe because they are coming for a short while and they get those 90-day visas.
“Our visa is not saying that every American is only being given a 90-day visa or three months or whatever. We give Americans and loads of Americans these long-term visas.”
Trump’s ‘Art of the Deal’
The move fits Trump’s classic playbook: put extreme pressure on the other side, then negotiate. It’s how he’s handled trade wars and now, immigration.
He hits countries with heavy penalties, like steep tariffs or restricted visas, and uses that as leverage to force agreements. So far, it’s worked with some. Not with Nigeria.
Nigeria was also left out of a key Trump meeting this week with African leaders on economic cooperation.
