While Malawi shows no deportee data, Germany deported at least 137 Nigerians across five chartered flights (Feb-June 2026.
According to The PUNCH, DERS Team, and Refugees4refugees.org, arrivals at Lagos Cargo Airport totaled: Feb (27), March (37), April (24), May (23), and June (26).
The Feb 18 operation, primarily enforced by Germany, arrived before 2 p.m. via World2fly from Stuttgart. Baden Württemberg’s Stuttgart also hosted Dec 2025 flights.
The 27 deportees included 26 from Germany and one severely ill, mentally unfit person transferred from Slovakia. Deportees had serious health conditions or had lived and worked in Germany for years.
Notably, a single mother and three children from Sindelfingen were deported despite pending residence documents; they later returned to Germany after a volunteer intervened and local foreign authorities confirmed the error.
Nigerian government agencies did not meet the flight, leaving deportees transported away without adequate assistance.
On March 10, a joint EU operation (Germany, Spain, Austria, Belgium) deported 50 people, 37 directly from Germany, marking the largest single Nigerian deportation in a referenced three-year period.
On April 9, Frontex and German authorities flew 24 Nigerians (including women and a minor) from Frankfurt. May saw 23 returns, and June 17 brought 26 to Lagos.
Rights advocates urge deportation policies include safeguards for vulnerable people and proper procedures to prevent wrongful removals, stressing irregular migration is driven by conflict, exploitation, climate pressures, and economic inequality.
On the other hand, as part of recent U.S. immigration enforcement actions and targeted crackdowns, approximately 3,690 Nigerian nationals have been identified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with final removal or deportation orders.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published specific lists containing the names and photos of 124 Nigerian nationals flagged as high-priority targets for removal due to criminal convictions, Premium Times reported in July this year.