1,100 Nigerians Return to Kano From Niger Republic
No fewer than 1,100 Nigerian migrants have arrived in Kano by road from Agadez in Niger Republic, the Nigeria Immigration Service announced on Friday.
The returnees were received through coordinated efforts involving federal and state agencies responsible for migration processing and reintegration.
Commandant of the Immigration Training School, Kano, Anthony Akuneme, disclosed this in a statement accompanied by videos of the migrants’ arrival.
According to him, the returnees are currently undergoing documentation through the Migration Information and Data Analysis System at the Migrants Arrival, Knowledge and Information Area before proceeding for further profiling and counselling.
“They are being documented via MIDAS at the MAKIA, after which they will proceed to ITSK for final profiling, counselling and reintegration with their various families,” Akuneme stated.
He added that personnel of the Kano Nationality Sortation Centre, MAKIA, and the International Transit and Stay of Knowledge centre, alongside other agencies, were on ground to ensure smooth processing of the migrants.
The reintegration process is being jointly coordinated by the Nigeria Immigration Service, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, the International Organization for Migration, and relevant state government agencies.
Friday’s arrival reflects the continued movement of stranded migrants returning from Agadez, a northern Nigerien city long regarded as a major transit hub for West African migrants attempting to travel to Libya and Europe through irregular routes.
Between 2015 and 2018, Agadez emerged as one of the world’s busiest migration corridors, with hundreds of thousands of migrants passing through the region annually.
However, the Nigerien government later introduced anti-smuggling laws that significantly reduced formal migration flows through the corridor.
Despite the crackdown, irregular migration routes through Agadez have reportedly continued.
The security situation in the Sahel region also worsened following the July 2023 coup in Niger Republic, which led to the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum and the withdrawal of French and US military forces from the country.
According to data from the International Organization for Migration, migration movements along the corridor have since witnessed renewed activity.
Nigerians remain one of the largest groups among migrants returning through the Agadez route.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had earlier disclosed in its April 2026 report that over 269,000 Nigerians displaced by insurgency in the North-East are currently taking refuge in Niger’s Diffa region.
The IOM also said it has facilitated voluntary humanitarian returns for thousands of stranded Nigerians since 2017, most of whom were young men seeking to migrate to Europe before becoming stranded due to lack of funds, detention, or the collapse of smuggling networks.
