The United Kingdom (UK) government has deported 44 Nigerians and Ghanaians on a single flight, marking the largest deportation of individuals, the Home Office confirmed on Friday.
The deportations come amid a broader push by the UK government to intensify immigration returns, with 3,600 people sent back to various nations since the Labour government came to power in July.
This includes about 200 deportations to Brazil and 46 people flown to Vietnam and Timor Leste. Regular flights continue to repatriate individuals to Albania, Lithuania, and Romania as well.
Deportation flights to Nigeria and Ghana are less common, with only four recorded since 2020, all carrying far fewer passengers.
The latest flight had more than double the number of deportees compared to previous ones.
The increased enforcement efforts coincide with reports that asylum seekers arriving in Diego Garcia, before the UK finalizes the return of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, may be sent to Saint Helena, one of the most isolated British territories in the Atlantic Ocean.
Among the deportees was a Nigerian man who, while being held at Brook House immigration removal center near Gatwick, attempted suicide before being deported.
His cellmate, who witnessed the incident, described being “very traumatized” by what he had seen.
Another individual shared: “I have been an asylum seeker in the UK for 15 years with no criminal record, yet the Home Office has denied my claim.”
Fizza Qureshi, CEO of the Migrants’ Rights Network, who was in contact with several people on the Nigeria/Ghana deportation flight prior to their departure, expressed deep concern: “We are appalled by the cruelty of these deportations, particularly the speed, secrecy, and lack of access to legal assistance. One detainee told us before being placed on the flight, ‘The Home Office is playing politics with people’s lives. We have done nothing wrong but seek help.'”
A Home Office spokesperson responded: “We have already launched a significant increase in immigration enforcement and returns to ensure compliance with the law, with over 3,600 removals carried out in the first two months of the new government.”
