Asylum in Nigeria: how refugee status works

UNHCR’s help pages for Nigeria state that the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, not UNHCR, is responsible for receiving and processing asylum applications, registering asylum seekers, deciding their claims and issuing documentation to asylum seekers and refugees. UNHCR works with the Commission, offers technical support and coordinates UN agencies and partners in the refugee response.

A claim is made inside Nigeria. The official pages describe registration at NCFRMI offices in the states and do not describe an application from abroad through a Nigerian embassy.

Registration is the first step. According to UNHCR, it allows early identification of people with specific needs and referral to protection services, and it protects against forced return (refoulement), arbitrary detention and arrest. All registration services are free.

The documents issued through the government system include proof of registration, asylum seeker certificates, refugee certificates, temporary protection status, the National Identity Number (NIN), birth certificates and Convention Travel Documents. Expired or lost documents are renewed at the same office that registered you.

The Nigeria Immigration Service issues Convention Travel Documents to refugees under protection in Nigeria, in line with the 1951 Refugee Convention; the first set was handed to NCFRMI in May 2019 for delivery to refugees. The document is valid for international travel, allows return to Nigeria during its validity and is free of charge because UNHCR covers the production cost.

If a document is lost, report it at once to the nearest police station to obtain a police report, then take the report to an NCFRMI office.

UNHCR lists NCFRMI offices including Abuja (2nd Floor, Federal Secretariat, Shehu Shagari Highway, Maitama), Lagos (13 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi), Ijebu-Ode in Ogun, Yola in Adamawa, Maiduguri in Borno, Calabar in Cross River, Enugu, Kaduna and Takum in Taraba. Protection counselling is given at NCFRMI offices in the states, and in Abuja at the NCFRMI office at the Federal Secretariat.

UNHCR and its partners operate from field locations including Abuja, Maiduguri, Ogoja, Lagos and Benue. UNHCR stresses that all services provided by it and its partners are free, and anyone asked to pay should report it through UNHCR’s fraud reporting channel.