Germany deports at least 137 Nigerians

Germany deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens in five documented chartered-flight operations between February and June 2026, highlighting the growing use of organised air returns from Europe to Nigeria.

The figures, compiled from reports monitored by the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org, indicate that 27 Nigerians were returned in February, followed by 37 people deported directly by Germany as part of a 50-person joint European Union operation in March.

A further 24 Nigerians were reportedly returned in April, 23 in May and another 26 in June.

Taken together, the documented operations point to a sustained pattern of chartered deportation flights involving Germany and, in some cases, coordinated action with other European countries.

February flight lands in Lagos

One of the documented operations took place on February 18, when 27 people described as Nigerians arrived at Lagos Cargo Airport aboard a charter flight from Germany.

According to Refugees4Refugees, the World2fly aircraft departed Stuttgart and reached Lagos shortly before 2pm. The organisation reported that Germany was the principal country enforcing the operation, while one person was transferred from Slovakia to join the group.

That left 26 people whose deportation was enforced from Germany, according to the report.

The operation also placed Baden-Württemberg at the centre of the return process, with the state serving both as a major participant in the deportation and the location from which the charter flight departed. Refugees4Refugees said Stuttgart’s involvement in the February operation, following an earlier December flight, suggested that the German city was increasingly being positioned as a hub for deportations to Nigeria.

The February operation was also reported by Voice for African Migrants, which said the 27 deportees arrived at the Lagos cargo airport after the World2fly flight from Stuttgart.

A wider European return system

The documented flights come against a broader European effort to strengthen cooperation on migration, returns and asylum decisions.

The European Union Agency for Asylum published updated guidance on Nigeria in March 2026, describing it as a joint assessment intended to help EU member states make more consistent decisions on international protection applications from Nigerian nationals. The agency said its assessment takes account of Nigeria’s security and social challenges.

Migration was also part of the formal relationship between Nigeria and the EU during an eighth ministerial dialogue in Abuja in March, where both sides reaffirmed their wider strategic partnership and commitment to practical cooperation.

Against that backdrop, the five documented charter operations between February and June provide a snapshot of how European countries are using coordinated returns to send Nigerians back to the country.

The numbers, however, should not necessarily be interpreted as representing all Nigerians deported from Germany during the period. They cover the specific charter operations identified in the reports reviewed and may exclude people returned on scheduled commercial flights, through other European countries or through operations not publicly documented.

For now, the clearest picture is of a return system becoming increasingly organised around chartered flights, inter-European cooperation and designated departure hubs, with Nigeria continuing to receive citizens returned from Europe.

The February flight from Stuttgart offers a concrete example of that system: 27 people, one aircraft, two European countries involved and a Lagos arrival marking the end of a deportation process that began in Germany.