Facts and Figures

IOM Member State since 2002 Capital: Abuja Population (2011): 162.5 million Area: 923,768 km sq Languages: English, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba Currency: Naira (NGN) GDP per Capita PPP (2010): USD 2,381 HDI Rank (2011): 156 of 187 Remittances (2011 estimate): USD 10,681 million Net Migration Rate (2010-2015): -0.4 migrants /1,000 population Immigrants (2010): 0.7% Women as a Percentage of Immigrants (2010): 47.4% Population under 15 (2011): 42.8% Adult HIV Prevalence (2009): 4%

Additional Resources Migration in Nigeria: A Country Profile 2009 International Migration Law Database National Instruments: Nigeria Sources and Definitions

Latest News

• IOM Assessment Team Finds Unaccompanied Child Returnees on Chad-Nigeria Border
• Nigeria Draws Regional Migrants But Loses High Skilled Labour, Migration Profile Finds
• IOM, AU, ECOWAS and UNODC Joint Launch of Ouagadougou Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking

Migration Issues

Nigeria continues to experience high internal and external migration due to the size of its population, economic climate, as well as its porous borders. The Government of Nigeria has continued to give more attention to migration management as is evidenced by the additional responsibilities given to the National Commission for Refugees (NCFR) in 2009 to oversee issues relating to migration and IDPs, ongoing dialogue with the European Union, the planned projects under the 10th National European Union Development Fund (EDF) and the recent appointment of a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora Affairs.

Since 2002, based on a Cooperation Agreement, IOM has been supporting the efforts of the Government of Nigeria to manage migration through capacity-building, advisory services, and technical assistance on migration matters, including migration health and information, assisted voluntary returns, and counter-trafficking. Strong collaboration has been established with national migration stakeholders in order to enhance border management, fight trafficking in persons, reduce irregular migration, and mainstream migration in the country’s development plans. In 2011 and beyond, IOM plans to provide further support to the Nigerian Government within the above mentioned programme areas.

Migration and Development

IOM Nigeria has been engaged in a dialogue with the government and other development partners to identify ways to support the mobilization of the diaspora for national development and to mainstream migration into the country’s development plans. At the request of the Nigerian government between 2006 and 2007 IOM provided support to the development of migration policy to guide the operation of migration stakeholders in Nigeria. The Organization has contributed to the development of a 2009 Migration Profile for Nigeria and is supporting the efforts of the government to develop Labour Migration Policy in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Within the 9 months inception phase of the 10th national EDF, IOM will be conducting an assessment of the key government agencies, civil society organizations working on migration management in Nigeria with a view to providing technical support to them to improve the governance of the migration sector through targeted capacity building activities, advocacy for the adoption and implementation of the draft national migration, Labour Migration policies as well as the finalisation, implementation of their associated action plans. The focal agencies supporting diaspora interventions will be included in the proposed needs assessment.

Projects

• Facilitating a Coherent Migration Management Approach in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Libya by Promoting Legal Migration and Preventing Further Irregular Migration
• Promoting Better Management of Migration in Nigeria

Regulating Migration

In the area of regulating migration, IOM Nigeria is providing technical assistance to the Nigerian Immigration Service on border management through the establishment of an automated passenger registration system at the Sokoto–Illella northern land border control post and strengthening their capacity on case handling and data management. During the inception phase of the 10th National EDF IOM will facilitate the review the organizational and managerial capacity of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) with a specific focus on border management, data collection and its capacity to detect fraudulent travel documents.

The mission in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic Persons in Nigeria, other government, NGO and UN partners is implementing a counter-trafficking project that focus on implementation of the national plan of action, sensitization of relevant stakeholders on the National policy for the Protection of Trafficked Persons in Nigeria, its operationalisation, the sustained development of integrated referral service delivery systems of social protection, socio-economic reintegration for victims of trafficking in persons as well as visible primary prevention services in endemic source areas in Edo State and Lagos State.

The mission is supporting the implementation of the activities of a joint counter-trafficking project developed under the framework of the UN.GIFT (United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking) by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and an NGO, EXIT. The overall objective of the proposed action is to stem irregular migration by preventing and combating trafficking in human beings between Nigeria and selected European countries.

Projects

• Expanding the Capacity of Nigeria Immigration Service to Reduce Irregular Migration to the UK, Switzerland and Europe
• Counter Trafficking Initiative: Analysis of the Evolution of Trafficking in Persons, Grass Root Social Intervention, Building Social Services and Networking Capacity and Promoting Direct Assistance
• Promoting Better Management of Migration in Nigeria
• Enhancing Multi-stakeholder Cooperation to Fight Human Trafficking in Countries of Origin and Destination

Facilitating Migration

IOM Nigeria provides assistance to the voluntary return and reintegration of failed asylum seekers, stranded students, labour migrants, family tracing for unaccompanied minors, repatriated migrants, family reunification and resettlement cases, pre-consular services, small business training for returnees in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). The organization in collaboration with the Social Development department, of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development provides family tracing and reunification services for unaccompanied minors where it is in their best interest to be reunited with family.

Projects

• DNA Testing for Family Reunification, Italy
• DNA Testing for Family Reunification, Canada
• Assisted Voluntary Return for the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ireland, Austria, Libya, Morocco, Norway, Malta, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy
• Coordination of Departure for Refugees Granted Resettlement (pre-embarkation medicals, departure assistance)

Forced Migration

From 2004-2007, over 950 Liberian refugees in Nigeria (both the Urban refugees and those resident in the Oru Refugee camp in Ijebu Ode, Ogun state who opted to return home voluntarily to Liberia, were repatriated in collaboration with NCFR and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). IOM Nigeria is presently providing support to the evacuation of Nigerian nationals from the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.

Policy Activities

IOM Nigeria provides support to the implementation of the Intra- African Caribbean Pacific Observatory on Migration Project. The project aims to provide policy-makers, the civil society and the public at large with reliable and harmonized data through applied research and research-actions on intra-regional migration.

Project

• Intra- African Caribbean Pacific Observatory on Migration Project

Last updated:
Main text: July 2011
Facts and figures: May 2012