Several undocumented Nigerians and other Africans residing in the United Kingdom have been sleeping in waste bins on the streets to evade deportations.

In 2025, the UK government embarked on a major overhaul of immigration policy, tagged ‘Plan for Change.’

The policy sent a wave of fear among migrants as those without legal status were deported in mid-2025.

The Home Office announced that 43 asylum seekers and offenders were returned on a charter flight to Nigeria and Ghana.

“Those removed had no right to be in the UK, including 15 failed asylum seekers and 11 foreign national offenders who had served their sentences,” the Home Office said.

Additionally, the British government stated that it would continue to tighten immigration rules to reduce net migration, strengthen border control, and reshape legal immigration around skills and contributions.

Subsequently, a viral video obtained by Diaspora Tales showed an African man sleeping in a bin on a snowy street in the UK.

A European man was seen asking him to go and make use of a shelter provided by the UK government.

Reacting to the video, Nigerians in the UK who spoke to Diaspora Tales, said the fear of being caught, detained and deported had forced many illegal migrants to leave their homes and sleep on the streets.

Crimes and homelessness

Mrs. Gisela Esapa, in Dunstable County, said many migrants who sleep on the streets and in bins were usually those engaging in crimes and facing homelessness.

Esapa said sleeping on the streets was not restricted to Nigerians and other migrants, adding that Brits and other Europeans in the UK also find themselves in the same situation.

She noted that some Nigerians arrived in the UK illegally and became unemployed and homeless.

The Nigerian woman said those who were mentally unstable and using drugs often turned the streets into homes.

She said, “When I was living in Luton, I saw many people, including Nigerians and Brits, who slept on the streets because they lacked documents such as a Biometric Residence Permit.

“Many migrants lived in Luton, and I saw how they behaved. Some people were afraid to even go to facilities provided by the UK government, thinking they might be arrested, detained, and deported.”

Another Nigerian in London, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said many homeless immigrants were sleeping at train stations.

The source added that illegal migrants would do anything including sleeping on the streets to avoid deportation.

‘Not all blacks are homeless’

Meanwhile, a Nigerian in Bradford, Maxwell Adeyemi, told Diaspora Tales that being homeless in the UK had nothing to do with colour or nationality.

He explained that several conditions, such as unemployment, lack of documents, and crimes, were common factors forcing people into homelessness.

“I am not aware if Nigerians are going through homelessness at the moment, but most homeless people are not even black but Asians and whites from Eastern Europe,” Adeyemi clarified.

Crimes have consequences

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission spoke on the matter and said many Nigerians who have become homeless in the UK were only facing the consequences of their crimes.

Speaking for NIDCOM, the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocol, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, stated that migrants would start avoiding immigration officials when they have overstayed their visas, and refused to return to Nigeria.

“They are only facing the consequences of their crimes which is usually overstaying of their visas,” Balogun said.

He added that NIDCOM was not aware of recent cases where Nigerians were sleeping on the streets in the UK.

“We only receive deportees when the governments hosting Nigerians involve us in the deportation of the illegal migrants,” he added.

Documentation attracts help

Diaspora Tales reports that the UK government is only removing migrants without legal status, which guarantees that even lawful homeless people can receive help.

Such assistance usually comes from local councils providing temporary accommodation like hostels and shelters.

“There are facilities for people who are homeless to sleep and while some provide food. But the most important thing is that those who are lawful residents in the UK always get help,” Esapa added. (Saturday PUNCH)

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