Details of the EU’s landmark migration agreement with Nigeria remain uncertain two days after its signing in Abuja by EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner and Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
After ten years of negotiations, Nigeria agreed on Tuesday to repatriate its citizens residing illegally in European Union member states, supporting the EU’s goal of accelerating returns of irregular migrants.
The pact creates fast, effective procedures for deporting Nigerians without a legal right to stay in an EU country, addressing a longstanding challenge for the bloc, as only about one‑third of irregular migrants are currently returned.
Reports differ regarding the concessions Nigeria obtained in exchange for its participation.
Local media report that the EU has pledged nearly €100 million in additional funding for migration management and security cooperation.
The Sun, a Nigerian newspaper whose report was shared on X by the EU delegation in Abuja, credited the pledge to Johannes Luchner, Deputy Director‑General of the Commission’s Directorate‑General for Migration and Home Affairs.
The funds are intended to support legal migration routes for Nigerians into the EU and to finance anti‑trafficking and anti‑drug initiatives.
The Commission states that the agreement does not constitute a simple exchange of concessions.
‘It forms part of a broader, mutually beneficial partnership between the EU and Nigeria, representing a step toward strengthening our cooperation built on mutual trust, shared responsibility, reciprocity, and common interests,’ a Commission spokesperson told Euronews on Thursday.
Brunner’s statement provided few details, noting only that the EU and Nigeria are ‘leveraging the substantial potential of our partnership for mutual benefit.’
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister and the EU Delegation to Nigeria have not yet responded to Euronews’ requests for comment.
The EU has already earmarked €731 million in grant funding for Nigeria for the period 2021‑2027.
Many Nigerian migrants travel to Europe via the perilous Mediterranean route; Nigerians were the largest national group among irregular arrivals in Italy in 2017 and 2018, though their numbers have fallen markedly since then. Eurostat does not publish current figures on irregular Nigerian residents in EU countries.
The deal is part of wider EU efforts to increase the proportion of migrants who are effectively returned after an order to leave, a rate that hovers around 30% despite a modest recent uptick.
International law obliges states to readmit their own nationals, yet many African governments have resisted or delayed such returns.
To deepen cooperation with third countries, the EU employs incentives and leverage across visa policy, trade, and financial support, while recipient states often request substantial visa facilitation or large financial packages in return.
The EU maintains 18 readmission agreements, predominantly with Asian and Western Balkan nations; its first African pact was with Cape Verde in 2014, while negotiations with Morocco and Tunisia have stalled.
Some EU member states have concluded bilateral return agreements for irregular migrants on their soil, whereas the EU as a whole has increasingly relied on non‑binding arrangements with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia, or broader strategic partnerships such as memoranda with Tunisia and Egypt.
The agreement also permits the return of EU nationals lacking legal residence rights in Nigeria, pending approval by EU member states and the European Parliament.