ABUJA, Nigeria / AfricaWire.IO / – Nigeria and the European Union have signed a readmission agreement after around ten years of negotiations, setting out procedures for the return of people who have no right to stay on either side. Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu and EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner signed the deal in Abuja on November 10, during Brunner’s official visit.
The European Commission said the agreement establishes rapid and effective procedures to identify and return people without legal residence rights in Nigeria or an EU member state. The aim is to facilitate return and readmission between the two sides. Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said the deal sets reciprocal obligations and safeguards the dignity and human rights of returnees. Nigerian media noted that it does not put all Nigerians in Europe at risk of removal.
Brunner called Nigeria a key partner for Europe and said the two sides were turning dialogue into action. He pointed to stronger security cooperation and better migration management as the main results. The visit also saw the launch of a Senior Officials Dialogue on Migration and Security. The new forum is intended to strengthen coordination and cooperation between Abuja and Brussels on both issues. Brunner held talks with Nigerian officials during his visit.
Parliament consent still needed
The agreement will not take effect immediately. It needs the consent of the European Parliament, after which the Council of the EU must formally conclude it. The Council first authorised the Commission to open negotiations with Nigeria in September 2016, as part of a broader push to secure return cooperation with countries of origin in Africa. The signing marks the first readmission deal between the EU and Nigeria.
The EU now has formal readmission agreements or practical arrangements on return and readmission with 24 countries. Such deals commit partner countries to help identify their nationals and accept them back once a return decision has been made. EU countries returned 34,550 people to third countries in the first quarter of 2026, an 8.1% rise from a year earlier, Eurostat data showed. The figure covers non-EU citizens returned after an order to leave.
Returns at centre of EU migration plans
Faster returns are a central part of the EU’s migration agenda. The Commission’s five-year plan for asylum, borders and returns, presented in January, set out measures to make removals more effective. Brussels has long said that only a minority of people ordered to leave the EU actually do so. In the first quarter of 2026, 108,475 non-EU citizens were ordered to leave an EU country.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is an important partner for the EU on trade, energy and security as well as migration. The new dialogue gives senior officials a regular channel to discuss these issues. Brunner, a former Austrian finance minister, took office as commissioner in December 2024. The Commission negotiated the text on behalf of the EU’s member states. The agreement’s procedures will apply only once both the Parliament and the Council have approved it.