Policy paper

United Kingdom-Nigeria Migration, Justice, and Home Affairs dialogue 2026: joint communiqué

Published 16 October 2026

Introduction

Nigeria and the United Kingdom reaffirmed their shared commitment to promote security and prosperity across both nations. Our collaboration is driven by common goals to manage migration effectively, promote justice, and counter criminality in all its forms. As part of our longstanding partnership, senior officials from the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Kingdom Home Office jointly chaired the annual Migration, Justice, and Home Affairs dialogue on 6 October 2026 in London, United Kingdom.

Building on the previous dialogue hosted in Abuja in October 2025, agreement was reached on a number of key priority issues, including migration, justice, and combatting serious and organised crime.

Nigeria and the United Kingdom agreed to continue collaboration based on mutual accountability and delivery of commitments while working in a spirit of partnership.

The Honourable Permanent Secretaries of the Nigerian Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined the UK’s 2nd Permanent Secretary for the Home Office in opening the Dialogue.

The UK 2nd Permanent Secretary for the Home Office said:

We must build on these strong commitments, to make both of our countries safer. These discussions will provide an ever stronger basis for the strength of the partnership between our two nations. We should leave this room with renewed determination: to tackle visa fraud, strengthen the security of our shared visa arrangements, and deepen cooperation against drugs and organised crime.

The Nigerian Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Interior said:

Our partnership is deeply rooted and integral. We are here to forge a partnership based on mutual respect. Nigeria remains fully committed to the operationalisation of our existing agreements and to use this opportunity to build new partnerships.

The Nigerian Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed the longstanding relationship between the UK and Nigeria, which spans extensive engagement across a broad range of sectors. He said:

Migration remains one of the most important and visible aspects of the UK-Nigeria relationship.  This dialogue must both cover enforcement activities as well as ensuring meaningful opportunities for legal migration; and credible opportunities for pathways for legitimate migrants. The MJHA Dialogue is ultimately about strengthening the security, prosperity, and safety of our nations and citizens.

Migration

Pillar 1: Migration Delivery Plan

The United Kingdom and Nigeria opened the dialogue by reflecting on the successes of the State Visit of HE President Tinubu to the UK in March 2026. This visit included the signing of a statement by the Honourable Federal Minister of Interior of Nigeria and the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom launching a three-year programme of enhanced cooperation against Organised Immigration Crime (OIC).

The initiative reflects a shared commitment to protecting both countries’ citizens and border systems by tackling criminal networks that facilitate irregular migration and visa abuse. Discussions focused on the programme of activity announced to support verification of documents in visa applications, operational co-operation, joint research and analysis, and support to policy and practical border security solutions.

The UK and Nigeria jointly committed to support development of Nigerian visa pathway programmes.

There was additional joint support agreed to new Nigerian border management systems on technical assurance and verification technologies.

The UK and Nigeria agreed to convene a shared expert legal roundtable on provisions and sentencing for Organised Immigration Crime and related offences.

Pillar 2: Returns, Readmissions and Reintegration

The United Kingdom and Nigeria acknowledged and affirmed their ongoing partnership and operational collaboration on returning individuals who have no lawful reason to remain in each other’s territories. Both parties reaffirmed their strong working relationships and reflected on the efficacy of the newly reinvigorated Migration Partnership Agreement following the State Visit in promoting the roles and responsibilities of all parties.

Returning those that no longer have a legal right to remain in the UK is a top priority for the UK government. The UK and Nigeria agreed to continue deepening this partnership to ensure safe, dignified and respectful processes. This includes continued engagement on reintegration programmes, including maintenance of the flexible support enabled by the UK programmes, including skills acquisition support. There was a further commitment to co-ordinate further on policy and programme work in this field.

Nigeria and the UK jointly committed to leading a reintegration conference early next year, during which it was agreed the two sides will also have a further discussion on information sharing to support safe and dignified return and reintegration.

Nigeria and the UK also jointly committed to re-engage on the topic of criminal data sharing for the purposes of return.

Nigeria and the UK agreed to convene an expert roundtable session on the process of assessments, prosecutions, and legal sentences regarding human trafficking, smuggled migrants and the UK’s National Referral Mechanism.

Pillar 3: Organised Immigration Crime

Nigeria and the United Kingdom celebrated the recent signings of MoUs relating to co-operation to counter Organised Immigration Crime and recommitted to finalising data sharing agreements under this pillar which were committed to during the State Visit. This builds on work and agreements previously made at the 2025 MJHA dialogue.

Both countries equally committed to working collectively to improve border and migration management capacity to reduce irregular migration flows. Both countries committed to enhancing UK-Nigeria prosecutorial and judicial collaboration, noting the ongoing collaboration and knowledge exchange between prosecutors on this offence type.

Nigeria and the UK agreed to have a further expert session on intelligence sharing through their respective competent agencies. The UK and Nigeria agreed to produce a strategic briefing on their respective perspectives on the threat from organised immigration crime. The UK and Nigeria committed to hold both of these sessions before the end of the year.  

The UK committed also to engagement via the established OIC Unit to support wider capacity building across Nigeria.

The UK and Nigeria further committed to signing the MoU on Data Sharing to support this work, following the resolution of further technical discussions.

Justice and Serious, Transnational, and Organised Crime

Pillar 4: Extradition

Nigeria and the UK have taken positive steps towards agreeing a stronger relationship on extradition, to create smoother and faster processes to ensure that criminals do not enjoy impunity from justice in either jurisdiction.

The UK and Nigeria committed to virtual expert engagement across their respective agencies within the month regarding prosecutions and case progression for extradition requests.

The UK and Nigeria also committed to work collectively to improve assurances on correctional facilities to enable smooth processing of extradition requests.

Pillar 5: Asset Recovery

The UK and Nigeria discussed the importance of joint action on asset recovery, including agreeing on the importance of collaboration not only on operational matters, but also to partner on strategic sharing of asset recovery successes, enabled by exchanges of appropriate technical expertise.

The UK committed to engaging with Nigeria via Note Verbale regarding the Data Transparency Project.

The UK and Nigeria further agreed to engage directly through the appropriate law enforcement agencies on specific cases of mutual interest.

Pillar 6: Judicial Processes and Prisoner Transfer

Nigeria and the United Kingdom agreed to continue operationalising prisoner transfer, reflecting on the successes of the recent Joint Implementation Committee between the two nations, which has allowed for closer co-operation on ongoing cases. The UK and Nigeria undertook a commitment to ensure all relevant representatives from their respective agencies attended the Committee.

The UK and Nigeria celebrated the growth of their partnership, particularly on the rule of law, and alternatives to prison custody.

The UK and Nigeria committed to continuing their annual judicial roundtable for a second year, as well as deepening training and engagement on non-custodial measures, and regional knowledge sharing opportunities.              

The UK and Nigeria agreed to ensure a practical review and update of legal terminologies of the Prisoner Transfer Agreement via an immediate supplementary meeting of the Joint Implementation Committee.

The UK also agreed to issue a further formal response to Nigeria regarding additional capacity building projects.

Pillar 7: Serious and Organised Crime Collaboration (SOC)

Nigeria and the United Kingdom noted with pleasure the announcement of Nigeria’s Organised Crime Strategy, supported by UNODC, and the SOC Strategy Toolkit which was created with funding from the UK. The announcement is a landmark achievement and will enable closer collaboration on all areas of Serious and Organised Crime in the future.

Both sides agreed to further co-operate on Nigeria’s implementation of its Organised Crime Strategy and agreed to continue to explore areas of mutual interest.  This will include a plan for joint investment in capacity building between multiple agencies within Nigeria to ensure effective action on shared threats.

The UK and Nigeria also specifically agreed to further deepen our partnership to combat cyber-enabled fraud, including through enhanced co-operation with the NFIU, EFCC and other competent law enforcement agencies.

The UK and Nigeria also jointly agreed to engage on mutual sharing of strategic criminal trend information to ensure closer joint co-operation.

Pillar 8: Commodities (Drugs) Trafficking

Nigeria and the United Kingdom noted commitments from last year to strengthen inter-agency cooperation on commodities trafficking, particularly in the maritime domain, and discussed ongoing activity, including recent major seizures of cocaine bound for the UK, which demonstrate our shared continued commitment to this principle.

The UK and Nigeria celebrated their enduring partnership to combat drug trafficking.

The UK and Nigeria discussed the importance of maintaining and sustaining effective operational work on illicit commodities and committed to sustained dialogue between senior officials across multiples agencies, ministries and departments.

The UK and Nigeria agreed to share knowledge regarding national reintegration and safeguarding programmes for demand reduction of illicit narcotics.

The UK and Nigeria similarly agreed to further shared planning and engagement on their respective international counter cocaine strategies, as well as to share learning on the threat from synthetic opioids and associated precursor chemicals.

The UK and Nigeria further agreed to co-operate on the growing threat areas with regards to illicit commodities, including the threat from unaccompanied illicit commodities travelling via air routes.

Overview and Conclusion

The United Kingdom and Nigeria reaffirmed their commitment to deliver agreed mutual priorities.

The MJHA Dialogue is the longest standing aspect of the UK and Nigeria’s Strategic Partnership. The talks provide a vital forum for contributions and participation from all relevant ministries, departments, and agencies from Nigeria and the UK to tackle shared challenges and continue to uncover shared opportunities for our ever-evolving partnership.

The United Kingdom and Nigeria committed to jointly monitor progress against commitments made on an ongoing basis and prepare for the next annual Migration, Justice, and Home Affairs talks to be hosted by Nigeria in 2027.