1,100 Stranded Nigerians Arrive Kano From Niger

No fewer than 1,100 Nigerian migrants have arrived in Kano from Agadez, Niger Republic, via road, the Nigeria Immigration Service confirmed on Friday.

The agency said officials from various federal and state bodies are currently coordinating efforts to process the returnees, provide counselling, and support their reintegration with families.

The Commandant of the Immigration Training School, Kano, Anthony Akuneme, disclosed that the migrants are undergoing documentation using the Migration Information and Data Analysis System at the Migrants Arrival, Knowledge and Information Area before moving to the International Transit and Stay of Knowledge centre for final profiling and psychosocial support.

He noted that personnel from the Kano Nationality Sortation Centre, MAKIA, and ITSK, alongside other agencies, are on ground to ensure a smooth and safe process.

The centres serve as key processing points where returnees are received, profiled, and linked to reintegration services.

The reintegration programme is jointly implemented by the NIS, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, the International Organization for Migration, and state authorities.

The latest arrivals reflect ongoing assisted and voluntary returns from Agadez, a major transit hub in northern Niger that has long served as a key route for West African migrants attempting to reach Europe through Libya and the Mediterranean.

Although Niger’s anti-smuggling laws significantly reduced migration flows after 2015, irregular movements along the corridor have persisted.

Recent instability in the region, following the 2023 coup that removed former President Mohamed Bazoum, has further affected migration control systems.

According to IOM data, movement along the route has picked up again in recent months, with Nigerians forming a significant proportion of returnees.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees also reported in April 2026 that over 269,000 Nigerians displaced by insurgency in the Northeast are currently taking refuge in Niger’s Diffa region.

IOM noted that since 2017, its operations in Niger have supported the voluntary return of thousands of stranded Nigerians—many of them young men who had attempted to migrate to Europe but were unable to continue due to financial constraints, detention, or disruptions in smuggling networks.