Nigerians still top list of asylum seekers
By AGENCY REPORTER, Published: Thursday, 25 Mar 2010



View All (5) Comment(s)




Nigerians have been ranked top on the list of people seeking asylum worldwide in 2009, according to a report released by the United Nations Refugee Agency on Tuesday.



For the second time in two years, Nigeria maintained its seventh position on the UN High Commission for Refugees ranking on country of origin of asylum seekers.



The UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria quotes the report as saying that 12,307 Nigerians applied for asylum during the period under review, mainly in European countries.



It, however, said the leading country with asylum applicants in 2009 was Afghanistan with 26,800 applications, representing a 45 per cent increase over 2008, the report said.



Iraqis dropped to second place with 24,000 claims, while Somalis moved to third with 22,600 asylum applications.



They were followed by people from the Russian Federation, China, Serbia.



The UNHCR, however, noted that the overall number of asylum-seekers in industrialised nations was stable in 2009, dismissing claims that asylum-seekers were rushing to developed nations



“The notion that there is a flood of asylum-seekers into richer countries is a myth.



“Despite what some populists claim, our data show that the numbers have remained stable,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said.



The data, which measure asylum levels and trends in 44 industrialised nations, shows that compared to 2008, the number of asylum-seekers last year, remained the same with 377,000 applications.



According to the report, the number of asylum applications increased in 19 of the countries and fell in the other 25 under review.



Of note was the Nordic region which recorded a 13 per cent increase with 51,100 new applicants, the highest in six years.



http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201003251214935

why nigeria seeks asylum in the foreing land, is becouse of bad leadership in their country, caused by mismanagement of their country's enormous resources, i will never blame any nigeria that want to survived in a foreing land, by seeking asylum, nigeria need change in govt. to put life again in their people life. in nigeria today no good road, no good water, no light, no good hospital etc etc etccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

Abeg jor. Plenty people need this refugee thing for real and Nigerians are ruining it for them. No one wants to kill you in Nigeria stop lying. I know many Nigerians who are refugees and they really are not in danger in Nigeria. They should be brought back home. What da hell? Somalians need it, Sudanese need it Albanians need it, Greeks are about to start needing it. Palestinians need it, Afghans need it, Pakistanis need it, Nigeria shouldn't even be on the top twenty of that list. Most of these Nigerians claiming refugees don't live in Jos or Niger Delta.

Greeks are about to start needing it