Data from the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada shows that more than 13,000 Nigerians who applied for refugee protection in Canada from January 2013 to December 2024 were rejected.
The figure above includes 811 Nigerians whose applications were turned down in 2024.
With the development, Nigeria ranks among the top five countries with the most rejected claims; Mexico tops the list with 2,954 rejections, India and Haiti come in second and third with 1,688 and 982 rejected claims, respectively.
Asylum seekers in Canada are given refugee protection if their claims are confirmed to have met the United Nations definition of a Convention refugee as confirmed by the RPD.
According to the 1951 UN Convention, state refugees are individuals who have a substantiated fear of persecution because of their race, nationality, religion, political ideology or membership in a particular social group, which can include sexual orientation, gender identity, being a woman and persons living with HIV/AIDS.
Those seeking asylum in Canada are required to provide proof that they are in danger of torture, risk to their life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if they return to their country of nationality.
Furthermore, the Refugee Board’s application guideline states that if an applicant’s “claim is eligible, it is sent to the RPD to start the claim for refugee protection process.”
Per the breakdown of rejections, 127 Nigerians were turned down in 2013, 241 in 2014 and 248 in 2015.
The highest number of rejected claims by Nigerians was in 2019, with 3,951 Nigerian applicants turned down.