News
Canada Deports 366 Nigerians, 974 Await Removal
Canada deported 366 Nigerians between January and October 2025, as it intensified its immigration enforcement drive at the fastest pace in over a decade, official data obtained by Saturday PUNCH has shown.
The figure, obtained from the Canada Border Services Agency removals programme statistics, also revealed that 974 Nigerians are currently in the “removal in progress” inventory, awaiting deportation from Canada.
The latest statistics, updated on November 25, 2025, showed that Nigeria ranked ninth among the top 10 nationalities deported from Canada in the under review, with 974 Nigerians in the fifth position among those awaiting removal.
A breakdown of the data showed that Nigerian deportations have fluctuated over the years.
In 2019, Canada removed 339 Nigerians; this dropped to 302 in 2020, then to 242 in 2021, and to 199 in 2022.
While Nigeria did not feature in the top 10 in 2023 and 2024, it returned to the list in 2025, recording 366 removals in just 10 months.
This represented an eight per cent increase compared to the 2019 figure.
The deportations come amid Canada’s aggressive immigration crackdown, with the CBSA now removing nearly 400 foreign nationals weekly, the highest rate in over a decade.
In fiscal year 2024-2025, Canada removed 18,048 people, spending approximately $78m in the process.
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is legally obligated to remove any foreign national with an enforceable removal order.
Individuals may be found inadmissible and face removal for several reasons, including security grounds, human or international rights violations, criminality, organised crime, health grounds, financial reasons, misrepresentation, and non-compliance with immigration rules.
The majority of those being removed, about 83 per cent, are failed refugee claimants whose asylum applications were denied.
Criminality accounts for about four per cent of removals.
Canadian law stipulates three types of removal orders: departure orders, which require individuals to leave within 30 days; exclusion orders, which bar re-entry for one to five years; and deportation orders, which permanently bar individuals from returning unless they obtain special authorisation.
The Canadian government says it is intensifying deportations to tighten immigration targets and address concerns over housing shortages, labour market pressures, and border security.
It also allocated an additional $30.5m over three years to bolster removal efforts, while committing $1.3bn to enhance border security.
President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Aisling Bondy, had expressed concern that deportations may ramp up further if Bill C-12, also known as the ‘border bill,’ passes.
“One of the clauses in that bill is that a lot of people will be permanently banned from filing a refugee claim in Canada,” Bondy said.
Analysis of the CBSA data revealed that Nigeria is the only African country featured in the top 10 nationalities for deportations in 2025.
Other African nations are grouped under “remaining nationals,” which accounted for 6,233 removals in 2025.
The top 10 countries for removals in 2025 are: Mexico (3,972), India (2,831), Haiti (2,012), Colombia (737), Romania (672), United States (656), Venezuela (562), China (385), Nigeria (366), and Pakistan (359).
Similarly, in the removal-in-progress record, Nigeria (974) is the only African country listed in the top 10. The inventory is led by India (6,515), followed by Mexico (4,650), the United States (1,704), China (1,430), Nigeria (974), Colombia (895), Pakistan (863), Haiti (741), Brazil (650), and Chile (621).
Canada remains a popular destination for Nigerians seeking better opportunities. According to the 2021 Canadian census, over 40,000 Nigerians moved to Canada between 2016 and 2021, making them the fifth-largest recent immigrant group and the largest population of African migrants to Canada.
Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada showed that 6,600 Nigerians arrived as new permanent residents in the first four months of 2024, making Nigerians the fourth-largest international population to obtain permanent residency, after India, the Philippines, and China.
Between 2005 and 2024, over 71,459 Nigerians obtained Canadian citizenship, placing Nigeria 10th among source countries for new Canadian citizens.
Canada’s ageing population and labour shortages have made it an attractive destination for skilled professionals and students from Nigeria.
News
BREAKING: KWAM 1 Writes Ogun Govt, Accuses Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Plot to Exclude Him From Awujale Selection
Popular Fuji musician and Olori Omooba of Ijebu land, Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, widely known as KWAM1, has written to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, alleging that he is being deliberately sidelined from the ongoing process to select the next Awujale of Ijebu land.
Ayinde, in a petition dated January 8, 2026, accused the Fusengbuwa ruling house next in line to produce the monarch of taking actions that allegedly violate the Chieftaincy Declaration and the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State. He claimed the moves were designed to disenfranchise him from contesting for the revered throne.
The letter, written on his behalf by his lawyer, Dr. Wahab Shittu, SAN, was addressed to Governor Abiodun and outlined what the Fuji star described as procedural irregularities in the selection process.
According to the petition, the contest for the Awujale stool has attracted over 60 aspirants, with Ayinde formally declaring his interest. However, the Fusengbuwa family has maintained that KWAM1 is not a member of the ruling house and is therefore ineligible to participate in the exercise.
Before writing to the governor, Ayinde had approached the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu Ode, seeking an interim injunction to restrain Governor Abiodun and six others from continuing with the selection process. The court, however, dismissed the application, ruling that it lacked merit. The musician later withdrew the suit without publicly stating his reasons.
In his latest letter, Ayinde disclosed that the Ijebu Ode Local Government, via a letter dated January 6, 2026, signed by its Secretary, Oke Adebanjo, had approved the commencement of the selection process by the ruling house.
He expressed surprise that while members of the Fusengbuwa family were preparing for a general meeting, the family’s Public Relations Officer, Prince Adeleye Lateef Ademuyiwa, allegedly issued a notice directing aspirants to collect nomination forms and appear before a screening committee.
The screening committee, according to Ayinde, is chaired by Prince Alhaji Mitiu Adenuga. He further alleged that the directive fixed the nomination exercise for Monday, January 12, 2026, while also stating that the process would be conducted by delegates to be selected at a meeting scheduled for January 10, 2026.
Ayinde argued that the sequence of events was confusing, contradictory, and contrary to established laws guiding traditional chieftaincy matters in Ogun State.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Ogun State Government nor the Fusengbuwa ruling house had officially responded to the allegations.
Lagos Reporters will continue to monitor developments surrounding the Awujale succession process and provide updates as the story unfolds.
News
“Do Not Test Trump’s Resolve”: US Issues Fresh Threat To Nigeria
A United States Congressman, Rep. Riley M. Moore, has warned Nigeria not to take the resolve of President Donald Trump with levity, adding that the US president remained steadfast in his bid to protect Christians in Nigeria, while reiterating the false allegation that Christians have continued to face prosecution in the West African country.
Moore’s warning came days after the US president issued another military action in Nigeria, adding that he would not be carrying out a single operation in Nigeria if the alleged Christian persecution continues in the country.
The threat came days after the United States launched a military strike in Sokoto, targeting some terrorist hideouts in the country. The strike affected other states such as Niger and Kwara.
However, Trump, in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, January 8, while responding to questions about a US military strike carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day, said: “I’d love to make it a one-time strike. But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike,” Trump said.
Moore took to social media to reiterate Trump’s second threat to the country and warned Nigeria against overlooking the threat. His warning did not sit well with many Nigerians, who took to the comment section of the post and expressed their views about his claim. Below are some of their comments:
Omolayo accused the US of bombing a Christian country, Venezuela, and stealing its oil: “What about Venezuela, which is 80% Christian? Trump doesn’t care about Christians, but I grudgingly welcome his presence in the northern part of Nigeria.”
Umar Yusuf Dayyabu knocked the US: “The same US that just finished bombing a Christian country (Venezuela) and is currently stealing their oil is now claiming to want to save Christians in Nigeria. The US only wants our natural resources, that’s it.”
Amadu Yahuza accused the Trump administration of imperialism: “Let’s be clear: if the U.S. is claiming to defend Christians in Nigeria but simultaneously tightens visa access for Nigerians broadly, including Christians, that is not solidarity, it’s hypocrisy. Trump’s statements about Nigerian Christians are political branding, while visa restrictions, federal actions, and international messaging are geopolitical moves.”
Garvy accused the lawmaker of turning a blind eye to the killing of Christians in the US: “I guess you were blind to Christians murdered right in front of your nose in Salt Lake City, and you were blind to that. Suppose their lives don’t matter, right?”
You can read more reactions on X here:
President Trump is serious about his steadfast support to protecting our brothers and sisters in Christ who continue to face persecution in Nigeria.
Do not test @POTUS' resolve. https://t.co/vd8t0LXdKc
— Rep. Riley M. Moore (@RepRileyMoore) January 9, 2026
News
Buhari’s Ex-Minister Pantami Breaks Silence Over Alleged Wedding Plan With Aisha Buhari
False claims linking former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, with former First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, have been dismissed after an independent verification found the story to be entirely fabricated.
The rumour, which spread rapidly across Facebook and X, alleged that the two were planning a marriage and circulated alongside an image described online as a pre wedding photograph.
The post gained wide traction after several users pointed to Aisha Buhari’s completion of her Islamic mourning period following the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2025.
Public figures also reshared the image, drawing thousands of comments and reactions and fuelling speculation among social media users.
A fact check carried out by PRNigeria found no credible evidence supporting the claim. Reviews of the verified social media accounts of both Pantami and Aisha Buhari showed no statements or references linked to any marriage plan. Searches across reputable news platforms also returned no matching reports.
Further forensic analysis subjected the viral photograph to InVid verification and artificial intelligence detection tools. The assessment confirmed that the image was digitally manipulated and generated through artificial means, with faces inserted into a wedding-themed template.
Pantami addressed the allegation directly in a phone conversation with PRNigeria.
“It is shocking that anyone would fabricate such a rumour. President Buhari is a father figure to us, and we regard his widow as a mother. The claim is baseless and impossible,” he said.
Bashir Ahmad, a former media aide to the late president, also rejected the story on his Facebook page in Hausa.
“The story being circulated that Hajiya Aisha Buhari has agreed to marry Sheikh Isa Ali Pantami is an outright lie. There is absolutely no truth in it whatsoever,” Ahmad wrote.
Additional context emerged from a recently released biography titled From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Dr. Charles Omole and launched at the State House in December 2025. The book records Aisha Buhari as stating clearly that she has no intention of remarrying, citing family responsibilities and a desire for a quieter public life.
The former president died in London on July 13, 2025, at the age of 82. He married Aisha Buhari in 1989 and is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren. Speculation around her personal life increased online after she completed the traditional mourning period in November 2025.
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