Nigeria To U.S.: Keep Your Prisoners! We Have Enough Problems — FG Fires Back

The Federal Government has firmly rejected pressure from the Donald Trump-led U.S. administration to accept Venezuelan deportees, stating that Nigeria has enough of its own challenges to contend with.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, made this known during an interview on Channels Television, stressing that Nigeria cannot take in deportees—especially those with criminal backgrounds—from Venezuela.

“It would be difficult for Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners. We have 230 million people already and our own internal issues,” Tuggar stated.

This development follows President Bola Tinubu’s participation in the BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 6 to 7, 2025. On the summit’s final day, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff hike on BRICS nations, including Nigeria, labeling them “anti-American.”

Tuggar, however, said the new tariff threat may not be directly linked to Nigeria’s BRICS participation. Instead, he revealed, the U.S. is intensifying efforts to convince African countries—Nigeria included—to accept Venezuelan deportees, some of whom are ex-convicts.

“The U.S. is placing significant pressure on African nations to take in Venezuelans deported from America, some of them directly from prison,” Tuggar explained. “Countries like Nigeria cannot afford to accept such burdens. We already have our fair share of problems.”

Meanwhile, Tuggar disclosed that the Tinubu administration has opened diplomatic channels with the U.S. over fresh visa restrictions placed on Nigerians. He also expressed disappointment over similar visa bans imposed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Nigeria officially joined BRICS+ as a partner country in January 2025. The economic bloc—originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—has since expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE.

BRICS+ nations now represent around 37% of global GDP, nearly half of the world’s population, and 40% of global economic output—posing a strong challenge to Western economic dominance.