At least 12,000 Nigerians living in Germany may be deported next year, according to Ralf Sanftenberg, Germany’s global head of programme, migration and development.
Sanftenberg who stated this during a visit to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on foreign affairs and diaspora.
According to him, “We have over 37,000 Nigerians in Germany and more than 12,000 of them are asylum seekers. There is a little chance for their applications to be moved and they may be forced to come back to Nigeria next year.”
Sanftenberg, who is the leader of delegation from the German ministry of economic cooperation and development, said he was on a site assessment mission for Nigerians who are voluntarily returning to the country.
He said 99 per cent of the asylum seekers would likely be denied asylum status because Nigeria is not among war countries and added that asylum seekers willing to return to Nigeria voluntarily will not be forced back or deported but would be assisted through a support programme organised by Germany.