Two days after the signing in Abuja, the details of the EU's migration agreement with Nigeria remain hazy. EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner and Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, sealed the deal on Tuesday, ending a decade of negotiations. The pact aims to establish "rapid and effective procedures" for returning Nigerians who lack the right to stay in an EU country—a pressing issue for the bloc, where only about one in three irregular migrants is actually sent back.
What Nigeria received in exchange is less clear. Nigerian media, including The Sun, reported that EU officials in Abuja pledged nearly €100 million in additional funding for migration management and security cooperation. The report, shared on X by the EU delegation in Abuja, attributed the figure to Johannes Luchner, deputy director general of the Commission's department for Migration and Home Affairs. According to these accounts, the money would support legal migration pathways for Nigerians into the EU, as well as anti-trafficking and anti-drug initiatives.
The European Commission, however, insists the agreement is not "a transactional exchange of concessions." A spokesperson told Euronews on Thursday: "It is part of a broader mutually beneficial partnership between the EU and Nigeria. This is one important step in strengthening our partnership, which is based on mutual trust, shared responsibilities, reciprocity, and common interests."
Brunner offered little detail in his own statement, saying only that the EU and Nigeria were "turning the huge potential of [their] partnership into mutual benefit." Neither Nigeria's foreign ministry nor the EU delegation in Abuja responded to requests for comment.
The EU has already committed €731 million in grant funding to Nigeria for the 2021-2027 period. The new deal is part of a broader push to raise the return rate for irregular migrants, which remains stubbornly around 30% despite a slight uptick in recent months.
What does Nigeria get?
Under international law, countries are obliged to readmit their own nationals. But African governments have often resisted or delayed such returns. To encourage cooperation, the EU uses incentives and leverage across sectors—visa policy, trade, financial support. In return, foreign governments typically ask for substantial visa facilitation or large financial packages.
The €100 million figure, if accurate, would be a significant addition. Yet the Commission's denial of a transactional approach suggests the deal is framed as part of a wider strategic partnership, not a quid pro quo. This mirrors the EU's recent memoranda of understanding with Tunisia and Egypt, which also bundled migration cooperation with broader economic and political engagement.
Nigeria's significance to the EU's migration agenda is clear. Nigerians were the largest national group among irregular arrivals in Italy in 2017 and 2018, though numbers have since dropped. Many still risk the dangerous Mediterranean route. Eurostat does not publish current figures on Nigerians residing irregularly in the EU.
The EU currently has 18 readmission agreements, mostly with Asian and Western Balkan countries. A 2014 deal with Cape Verde was the first with an African nation, but talks with Morocco and Tunisia have stalled. Some member states have negotiated bilateral arrangements, while the EU has increasingly turned to non-binding arrangements or broader strategic partnerships.
The Nigeria deal, while hailed as a milestone, leaves key questions unanswered. What exactly will the €100 million fund, if it materialises? How will "rapid and effective" returns be implemented in practice? And will Nigeria see tangible benefits in visa facilitation or development aid? For now, the answers remain as unclear as the deal's fine print.
