The United Kingdom and Nigeria have signed a three-year strategic agreement to increase jail terms for immigration-related offences and strengthen efforts to curb visa fraud and organised immigration crime.
This is according to a joint statement signed in London on March 18, 2026, by the UK Home Secretary, Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood, and Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The agreement builds on the existing UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership signed in 2024 and is aimed at deepening cooperation on migration, justice, and home affairs.
What the agreement says
According to the statement, both countries committed to tightening laws and enforcement mechanisms to curb immigration-related crimes.
- “i. Ensuring that sentences for those convicted of immigration crime-related offences are increased under Nigerian law, proportionate to the harm these offences cause, with particular regard to false document production following legal review.
- “II. A commitment to expanding the legal basis on which prosecutors can charge offenders alleged to have committed crimes related to immigration and border security following legal review.
- “iii. Tightened regulation of processes used by Nigerian authorities who issue travel documents and documents used to support visa applications, for example through verification and assurance technologies.
- “iv. Strengthening the commitment to the UK / Nigeria Organised Immigration Crime Unit through the signing of four Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) on operational engagement and data sharing to support collaboration to tackle organised immigration crime (OIC).
- “v. Bolstering Nigerian border security through the provision of training and capability to relevant parastatals, which the UK commits to do in partnership with Nigeria.
- “vi. Working together to safeguard women and children who are migrating, focusing particularly on the protection of children and addressing challenges with surrogacy regulation; through discussions at the MJHA Dialogue,”they stated.
More details
As part of the three-year plan, both countries will immediately operationalise the joint UK-Nigeria Organised Immigration Crime Unit through the signing of cooperation agreements and additional data-sharing arrangements.
Both countries will develop a standard verification system to enable faster checks of documents used in visa applications, while also improving intelligence through shared research on irregular migration patterns.
The agreement also includes continued deployment of vetted officers from the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission within the joint crime unit.
What you should know
In May 2025, both countries signed a joint fraud action plan to strengthen collaboration in detecting, disrupting, and deterring cross-border financial crime, with a focus on intelligence sharing and joint law enforcement operations.
- Nigeria and the United Kingdom maintain a long-standing economic and diplomatic relationship. According to Nairametrics, bilateral trade between both countries has grown steadily to £8 billion annually, supported by the UK–Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership, which promotes collaboration in sectors such as finance, technology, and digital services.
- According to LCCI Director General Dr. Chinyere Almona, Nigeria recorded about $6.01 billion in capital importation in Q3 2025, with the United Kingdom remaining one of the country’s largest sources of foreign investment.
The United Kingdom accounted for about US$2.94 billion, or nearly half of total inflows during the quarter. Driven predominantly by portfolio investment, particularly into the financial and banking sectors.
