At least 21,807 foreign refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence in neighbouring countries remain unregistered in Nigeria, denying them access to food assistance, healthcare and other essential services, the United Nations has revealed.
The figures, contained in the November 2025 UNHCR dashboard obtained by The PUNCH, show that the unregistered asylum seekers, predominantly come from Cameroon’s conflict-torn Anglophone region.
The data revealed that Nigeria currently hosts a total of 127,000 refugees and asylum seekers from 41 countries, with 21,807 still awaiting registration by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, alongside 80,915 recognised refugees and over 25,000 asylum seekers whose cases are being processed.
Analysis of successive UNHCR dashboards reveals that the backlog of unregistered refugees has fluctuated over the past year, climbing from 21,095 in December 2024 to a peak of 32,750 in June 2025, a 55 per cent surge in six months, before declining to 21,807 by November 2025.
The March 2025 dashboard recorded 20,997 persons awaiting registration, suggesting that the new arrivals continue to outpace the Federal Government’s capacity to process them.
Unregistered refugees remain ineligible for UNHCR-provided food stipends, cash assistance, health insurance schemes, and other humanitarian aid, leaving thousands in limbo as they struggle to meet basic needs in host communities.
One official familiar with the refugee registration process told our correspondent that staffing shortages, security restrictions, and logistical challenges have slowed enrolment in Borno, Adamawa, and Cross River States, which host the bulk of new arrivals.
“Registration can take weeks or even months, depending on the state and the availability of NCFRMI personnel,” explained one field officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The data shows that Cameroonians dominate Nigeria’s refugee population, accounting for 86 per cent or approximately 119,208 people fleeing the eight-year-old Anglophone crisis in Cameroon’s North-West and South-West regions.
Smaller populations originate from Niger (15,011), the Central African Republic (1,053), Syria (1,330), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (598), among others.
Women and girls account for just over half of all refugees, while children represent close to 60 per cent, according to UNHCR statistics.
Most refugees live in host communities across Cross River, Taraba, Akwa Ibom, Benue, and Adamawa States, rather than in camps.
Urban centres such as Lagos, Abuja, and Kano also shelter refugees from diverse nationalities, some of whom have been in Nigeria for over a decade.
Nigeria’s open-door policy and adherence to the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1969 Organisation of African Unity Convention require the country to grant asylum to individuals fleeing persecution and conflict.
The NCFRMI, working with the Nigerian Immigration Service and UNHCR, is responsible for registering asylum seekers and conducting Refugee Status Determination procedures, which can take three to six months.
Successful applicants receive refugee identity cards that provide access to work permits, school enrolment, and, in principle, freedom of movement beyond designated settlements.
In 2019, Nigeria began issuing Convention Travel Documents—refugee passports—to enable international travel.
However, during mass influxes, individual asylum procedures are often suspended in favour of group recognition.
In 2024, the government granted 86,000 Cameroonian refugees Temporary Protection Status valid through June 2027, while 20,000 Nigeriens in Damasak received prima facie recognition.
Speaking with our correspondent, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Singapore, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, warned that while Nigeria must fulfil its international obligations, border control agencies must remain vigilant against infiltrators.
“Nigeria is a signatory to the appropriate international instruments, conventions and treaties that grant favour to asylum seekers, especially those under persecution.
“We’re aware of all the people from Cameroon, where there’s some kind of civil unrest. The same goes for Sudan, Syria and parts of Lebanon. Based on those international conventions, Nigeria is obliged to admit and grant them asylum.
“However, given the security situation we face in Nigeria, the relevant agencies should have their eyes peeled to watch out for people who might be used to infiltrate the Nigerian space for any negative objectives,” Amedu-Ode told The PUNCH.
The registration backlog comes as Nigeria grapples with a broader displacement crisis.
According to the UNHCR, the country hosts 3.5 million internally displaced persons, primarily in the North-East, due to Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province insurgencies.
In 2024, severe floods affected over 480,000 people in 34 of Nigeria’s 36 states, including tens of thousands in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, further straining humanitarian resources.
Meanwhile, nearly 408,000 Nigerian refugees remain registered in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Niger, and Chad, having fled insurgent violence in the Lake Chad Basin.
In 2025, UNHCR facilitated the return of 26,473 Nigerian refugees through voluntary repatriation programmes, including a landmark Tripartite Agreement signed in February with Chad and Nigeria.
Nigeria’s refugee response is coordinated through a Refugee Response Plan involving government agencies, UN bodies, international NGOs, and civil society organisations.
Credit: The Punch