UK to relocate asylum seekers from Nigeria, others to Rwanda

The British government has concluded plans to send Nigerians and foreign nationals who entered the country illegally and seeking asylum to Rwanda.

The move follows the astronomical increase in the number of people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.

The controversial new immigration scheme was announced by British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in London on Thursday.

He said: “From today… anyone entering the UK illegally as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1 may now be relocated to Rwanda.

“Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead.”

According to him, the East African nation is one of the safest countries in the world and is globally recognized for its record of welcoming and integrating migrants.

Johnson was elected partly on promises to curb illegal immigration but has instead seen record numbers making the risky channel crossing.

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He also announced that Britain’s border agency would hand responsibility for patrolling the channel for migrant boats to the navy.

More than 28,000 people arrived in Britain having crossed the channel from France in small boats in 2021.

About 90 percent of the immigrants were male and three-quarters were men aged between 18 and 39.

However, opposition politicians have criticised the premier’s latest move, claiming he was only trying to avoid penalties for breaking COVID-19 rules.

Ghana and Rwanda had previously been mentioned as possible locations for the UK to outsource the processing of migrants, but Ghana denied involvement in January.

Instead, Kigali on Thursday announced that it had signed a multi-million-dollar deal to do the job, during a visit by British Home Secretary, Priti Patel.

“Rwanda welcomes this partnership with the United Kingdom to host asylum seekers and migrants, and offer them legal pathways to residence” in the East African nation, Foreign Minister, Vincent Biruta, said in a statement.

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