At least 137 Nigerians returned to the country from Germany between February and June 2026 after five documented deportation operations.
Reports monitored by the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org show that Germany carried out the operations through a mix of direct and joint European deportation flights.
The figures show that 27 Nigerians returned in February, while 37 were deported directly by Germany in March as part of a larger 50-person European Union operation.
Germany also deported 24 Nigerians in April, 23 in May and another 26 in June.
The figures highlight Germany’s continued use of chartered flights to return Nigerians whose cases led to deportation. Some operations also involved cooperation between several European countries.
February Operation
On February 18, 2026, a deportation flight brought 27 Nigerians to Lagos Cargo Airport.
Refugees4refugees.org reported that World2fly operated the flight. The aircraft left Stuttgart and arrived in Lagos shortly before 2pm.
Germany handled most of the deportations. However, one person reportedly travelled from Slovakia to join the group. The individual reportedly had severe health and mental-health concerns.
The report identified Baden-Württemberg as a key participant in the operation. Stuttgart had also hosted the December 2025 deportation flight to Nigeria.
The February operation raised concerns about the circumstances surrounding some of the deportees. The report claimed that several had serious health conditions. Others had reportedly lived and worked in Germany for years.
One case involved a single mother and her three children from the Sindelfingen district of Stuttgart. The family reportedly had documents linked to their residency status when German authorities deported them.
The family later returned to Germany after a volunteer intervened. Local foreign authorities reportedly confirmed that officials had deported them by mistake.
The February operation also took place as Nigeria prepared for its Voluntary National Review of the Global Compact for Migration. The review preceded the 2026 International Migration Review Forum in New York.
More Deportations Followed
On March 10, Germany hosted another major deportation operation. The flight returned 50 people to Nigeria through a joint European Union effort involving Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium.
Germany accounted for 37 of those deportations, according to the supplied figures. The operation reportedly marked the largest single deportation of Nigerians recorded during the three-year period covered by the report.
The returns continued in the following months.
On April 9, 24 Nigerians, including women and a minor, returned to Nigeria on a charter flight from Frankfurt. Frontex organised the flight with German authorities.
Another 23 Nigerians returned in May, while 26 more arrived in Lagos on June 17 following another chartered deportation flight.
In total, the five documented operations returned 137 Nigerians to Nigeria between February and June 2026.
The figures offer a glimpse into the growing use of chartered deportation flights involving Germany and other European countries, while the individual cases also highlight the deeply personal impact such operations can have on families and people who have spent years building lives abroad.
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