More than 2,000 Nigerians remain stranded at a deportation camp in India due to delays in processing travel documents, according to a detainee identified as Ekene, who spoke to Vanguard in a monitored online interview.
Ekene’s account came days after Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), said the Indian government had granted a targeted amnesty to undocumented Nigerian migrants. Speaking to television personality Rufai Oseni, Dabiri-Erewa said the amnesty began on May 1, 2025, for an initial six months and was later extended by three months following negotiations by Nigeria’s High Commissioner to India. She said no fewer than 4,000 Nigerians had returned to Nigeria under the programme without legal or administrative penalties, and that Ekene and others who failed to regularise their status or leave during the amnesty period were subsequently arrested and detained.
Ekene, who said he was part of a seven-man committee that met with Nigerian mission officials during a camp visit, disputed that framing. He said the core issue was not whether an amnesty exists, but whether travel documents are being processed to let detainees leave.
“Amnesty or no amnesty is not the problem. The problem here is that people are not moving,” he said.
He said detainees had been told that those brought into the camp between 2024 and December 1, 2025, were eligible to leave without penalty under the amnesty arrangement, and that three people had already left under it. He said the remaining holdup is the travel documents themselves.
“Before you travel, you need to get your travel documents. So, if I don’t get my travel documents, how will I travel?” he said.
According to Ekene, Nigerian officials told detainees they could not directly retrieve their National Identification Numbers and other records because those are held by Indian authorities, who are expected to pass the information to the Nigerian mission for document processing. He appealed for more regular, in-person visits from Nigerian officials, saying detainees struggle to get Indian authorities to respond to complaints without that pressure.
“If you are not coming here, how can we move?” he said.
Ekene also alleged that about 16 Nigerians who had booked flights were blocked from travelling after Indian authorities said their travel documents had not been properly confirmed. He disputed that explanation, saying detainees had chat records showing their documents were submitted for verification and that they were told to proceed with booking flights weeks in advance before being informed shortly before departure that they could not travel.
“We have our evidence. We have the chats,” he said.
Beyond the delays, Ekene described poor conditions inside the camp, showing blocked drainage, waste around the compound and damaged bathroom facilities during the interview. He said detainees cook their own food and sometimes wait days for waste removal.
“The sanitary conditions here are very poor,” he said.
He alleged two detainees died at the camp last year, after which authorities contacted the Nigerian Embassy and the families of the deceased. This claim could not be independently confirmed. He also alleged detainees are not taken to hospital unless their condition becomes critical.
“I became sick after they first brought me here, and I am still sick up till date,” he said.
Ekene pushed back on the idea that camp detainees should be seen as criminals, saying those he was referring to are held specifically for deportation-related reasons, while those with criminal cases are identifiable through Indian authorities’ systems and are sent to prison instead. He estimated a detainee currently needs about ₦1 million to return to Nigeria, mainly for an airline ticket, with additional costs for those lacking valid passports or identification.
Dabiri-Erewa said the Nigerian High Commission in India is continuing to engage Indian authorities to secure a fresh extension of the amnesty programme, and that NiDCOM’s legal team will keep monitoring the situation while urging Nigerians to pursue regular, lawful migration channels.
Over 2,000 Nigerians Stranded in India Deportation Camp — Detainee Ekene
