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# taz.de -- Refugees and migrants in Nigeria: Always Eye to Eye
> Nigeria was the first country to sign a migration and mobility treaty
> with the EU. The EU Delegation is working intensely to negotiate a
> readmission agreement, but Nigeria is expecting compensation.
Bild: A camp for internally displace people in Maiduguri, Nigeria
Abuja taz | Worldwide, the Diaspora comprises at least 20 million Nigerians
who constitute a major economical factor. The Central Bank of Nigeria
reports that in 2015 about 21 billion dollars were transferred into the
country, and the tendency is rising. In this context, nearly 24,000
Nigerians who irregularly crossed European borders could be considered
negligible.
Nevertheless, Nigeria is considered a key country in regards of the new EU
policy towards Africa. In recent times, the EU has made more agreements
with Nigeria than with any other country in Africa, mainly concerning
migration and security.
The refugee problem is something entirely different. Since the beginning of
the conflicts with the islamist militia Boku Haram in 2009 which broke out
in the north-east of the country, more than 20,000 people have been killed,
numerous women and girls have been abducted and children have been
recruited as suicide attackers. Up to 2,5 million people had to leave their
homes, 2,2 million of them are IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) and
187,126 sought refuge in Cameroon, Chad or Niger.
According to the figures of UNHCR, in the north-eastern states Adamawa,
Borno, Gombe and Yobe, up to 15 million people are directly affected and in
need of humanitarian aid. Half of them are children. In February UNHCR
announced that only 9 percent of the expenses required for IDPs in Nigeria
are covered. IDPs have lost everything and no money to pay for their
migration to Europe.
## Money for conflict resolution
To control migration from western Africa to Europe, in 2006, the so-called
“Rabat-Process“ was initiated. This process links development aid to
migration and the repatriation of irregular migrants has become a key
aspect of cooperation. In December 2015, the migration summit in Valetta
primarily resulted in creating with significant financial means the “EU
Emergency Trust Fund for Africa“ which was pragmatically filled with 1,88
billion dollars from already existing development aid resources.
While in western Africa, most of the funds are dedicated to employment
projects, in Nigeria, peace work and conflict resolution are financed. 52
million euros are provided for peace projects in the north-east of Nigeria
where Boko Haram strikes terror. Previous to the Valetta Summit, the EU
development aid programme for Nigeria for the period 2014-2020 totalled 520
million Euros, of which 90 million were appraised for “good governance“,
peace and stability; New, since Valetta, has been only the focus on the
causes for flight and migration. The funds provided for health, food and
sustainable energy have not changed.
## Desperately seeking success
In the middle of October 2016, 15 delegates from Brussels travelled to
Nigeria’s capital Abuja. “A flutter as if they wanted to keep millions of
migrants out of Europe“, mocks a high-level representative of an
international NGO who was taking part in the negotiations. “It was all
about the money: How much for repatriation? What packages do we have to
draw up?“
The visit of the EU delegation was also dedicated to start negotiations for
a European-Nigerian readmission agreement. It is still in the dark what
Nigeria will receive for the deal. Hundreds of millions of EU funds are
invested in other key-countries like Ethiopia, Sudan or Eritrea.
The German Embassy in Abuja wants to keep the draft of the agreement
covered. Godwin Morka, Chief Research Officer of NAPTIP (National Agency
for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons) says that the treaty will
facilitate their work.
The protection of the victims of human trafficking is considered to be
NAPTIP’s main concern: The memorandum regulates mutual legal assistance and
“the issue of the identification of individuals“. It also determines the
“exchange of information (particularly concerning irregular migration),
protection of human rights, safe readmission, rehabilitation and
international protection of victims, guaranteed from both sides.“ The EU
delegation and the Nigerian partners straightway agreed on a
“identification mission“ in several EU countries – at least, the EU
“progress report“ states all that.
## Partners in Energy Policy
Are these steps undermining the freedom that ECOWAS (Economic Community of
West African States), which is based on the EU model, has introduced?
“However, walls cannot be erected“, says Director Morka from NAPTIP. “We
have to be professional and smart to catch the criminals.“ The agency
counts on hints from the public, technology and investigative activities.
Until 2015, NAPTIP was only responsible for human traffickers. Since then,
due to the new legislation against human trafficking, also the ones who
assist irregular border crossing have been targeted/prosecuted.
Many EU papers state that Nigeria’s economic power and oil and gas
production are the reasons for the tight relations between the EU and
Nigeria; and the new EU foreign and security strategy of March 2016
promotes energy security, next to terrorism and climate change, to a main
issue. European energy security shall be reached through supply
diversification.
Therefore, Nigeria’s oil resources are strategically important for Europe
and the strategic considerations do not only include the actual drillings
in the Niger Delta, but also the potential deposits under Lake Chad – the
region is Boku Haram’s stronghold – and the planned Trans-Sharan oil and
gas pipeline from Nigeria through Niger and Algeria to Spain. Already in
2002, first agreements with Algeria have been concluded. In December 2016,
during a visit of King Mohammed, Nigeria’s President signed an agreement
that also connects Morocco to the pipeline. Nigeria’s oil pipelines have
been repeatedly destroyed in the past. Meanwhile, the militias in the Niger
Delta together with Nigerian business leaders have built up a parallel
market where stolen oil is dealt by whole shiploads.
## Bilateral Contracts with Half of Europe
Vice versa Nigeria is not only interested in trade and sales of raw
materials, but also in receiving knowhow, technology and support for
building up its own economy. But the EU Economic Partnership Agreement
neither complies with these needs nor does the internal EU paper that
identifies the interests associated with a prospective repatriation
agreement mention these topics. And while the repatriation of billions of
dollars that were stolen from politicians and deposited on European
accounts is on top of the Nigerian agenda, the internal EU paper ranks this
issue last.
After 2006, when the Rabat Process was initiated with the attempt to link
migration and development and to achieve readmission possibilities for
irregular migrants, Nigeria hastily signed expulsion agreements: Bilateral
agreements with Italy (2011), Great Britain (2004 and 2016), Spain (2001)
about the readmission of rejected migrants and last, but not least, the
CAMM (Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility) in 2015, which constitutes
the first contract of this kind in sub-Saharan Africa. This Community
programme attempts to promote legal migration and to open EU-programmes for
Nigerians and at the same time fosters readmission and border controls.
Cooperation with Frontex has already been stipulated in 2012 and today
Nigeria is a member of the Africa-Frontex Intelligence Community. The
contract also comprises that Nigeria is taking part in joint border
controls and joint readmission proceedings – an arrangement is certainly
owed to the massively courted NAPTIP, Nigeria’s national authority for
human trafficking, which cooperates with the EU, IOM (International
Organization for Migration), Frontex, Interpol and Europol, UNODC (United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) and with national security forces.
Eventual NAPTIP is a paramilitary prosecution authority that coordinates
the activities of the secret service and the police concerning human
trafficking and since 2015 also human smuggling. NAPTIP itself has
concluded several bilateral cooperation contracts with European security
authorities (Spain, UK, Netherlands). Frontex, on the other side, has at
least signed a contract with NAPTIP and another one with NIS (National
Immigration Service), Nigeria’s immigration authority. Both authorities are
subordinated to the Ministry of Interior. However, given that international
treaties are in the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
Frontex treaty with the migration authority stresses that it is not an
internationally approved document.
The numerous agreements and letters of intent evoke the impression of a
model pupil in European migration control lessons. Anyways, as so often in
Nigeria, not laws and policies are lacking, but implementing, executing and
administering funds with integrity fails. Frequently only the financial
benefit is decisive for a contract to be fulfilled.
In addition to border control and peace and reconstruction measures in the
areas controlled by Boko Haram, Nigeria needs substantial support for its
security and defence forces. The Nigerian army is run-down from the fight
against Boko Haram and the accoutrement is depleted. Due to human rights
violations of the army, the USA does not supply weapons or military
technology. The so-called Leahy Law strongly controls arms exports. The
ruthless operations of the Nigerian army not only against Boko Haram, but
also against the Biafra separatists in the east, who are claiming their own
state, like they did in the 1960s, and against the Shiite minority in the
north-west, brought about very critical reports from the international
human rights organisation Amnesty International and an investigation of the
International Criminal Court in The Hague.
An internal EU paper explores the issues of the EU and Nigeria and how a
readmission agreement can be negotiated. Consequently, the long list of
infrastructural measures, training programmes and activities against human
trafficking, including a simplified issuance of visas for selected groups
of people, does not mention to support the military or other security
forces. Nevertheless, a common report of the German Ministry of Defence and
the Foreign Office states this purpose. The report, of 17 May 2016,
addressed to the Members of the German Parliament comprises a “list of
efforts“ which also includes the “acquisition of ground radar systems“ to
fight Boko Haram.
Translation: Natascha Weiss
12 Dec 2016
## AUTOREN
Andrea Stäritz
## TAGS
migControl
Nigeria
Amnesty International
## ARTIKEL ZUM THEMA
Vertriebenenlager in Nigeria: Der ständige Begleiter
Drei Jahre nach der Entführung hunderter Schülerinnen ist Boko Haram auf
dem Rückmarsch. Nun hat das Militär die Bevölkerung fest im Griff.
Hinrichtungen weltweit: Wenn der Staat zum Mörder wird
Laut einem Bericht der Menschenrechtsorganisation Amnesty International
wurden 2016 weniger Menschen hingerichtet als im Rekordjahr 2015.
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