24 Aug, 2025

Nigeria rejects pressure to accept deported Venezuelans

Nigeria rejects pressure to accept deported Venezuelans

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar denounced the United States' pressure on several African countries to accept Venezuelan citizens deported from their territory, noting that it would be difficult for Nigeria to do so.

"The United States is putting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans who are being deported from the United States, some directly from prison," Tuggar said during an interview on Channels Television, which aired Thursday night.

The minister, however, stressed that it would be "difficult" for Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners: "We already have enough problems of our own. We cannot accept Venezuelan sports in Nigeria (...). There are already 230 million of us."

Tuggar also addressed the new 10% tariffs imposed on Nigeria by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who announced the measure last Tuesday after warning that he would impose an additional 10% tariff on countries that align with the BRICS group.