Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, has firmly ruled out the possibility of Nigeria accepting Venezuelan deportees or prisoners from the United States, arguing that the country already faces significant internal pressures.

Speaking during an interview with Channels Television, Tuggar quoted a line from the American rap group Public Enemy to underline his stance: “Flava Flav has problems of his own. I can't do nothin' for you, man.”

“We already have over 230 million people,” Tuggar explained, insisting that it would be unfair and unreasonable to further strain Nigeria’s resources by taking in deportees from another continent.

His comments come after the Trump administration threatened visa restrictions and increased tariffs on countries unwilling to comply with its deportation policy.

The minister also criticised the recent US decision to reduce the validity of Nigerian non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas to single entry, valid for only three months.

Tuggar argued that such measures were pressure tactics rather than reciprocal diplomatic actions.

“You will be the same person that will castigate us if we acquiesce to accepting Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria,” he added.

Amid reports of Washington pressing several African nations to take in migrants or prisoners the US cannot send back to their own countries, Nigeria has stood its ground.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Trump administration made similar requests to leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Gabon and Guinea-Bissau before a White House summit, although it remains unclear if any of them accepted.

The US embassy in Abuja has denied that the visa restrictions were imposed as punishment for Nigeria’s refusal. According to the embassy, the new rules are linked to “technical and security benchmarks” rather than diplomatic disagreements.

Tuggar also noted that the US pressure campaign included the threat of imposing an extra 10 percent tariff on countries perceived to align with the Brics alliance, which now includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and several new members like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Ethiopia.

Although Nigeria is not a full BRICS member, it became an official partner earlier this year. Tuggar dismissed the idea that the proposed tariffs were directly tied to Nigeria’s BRICS partnership.

Instead, he stressed that Nigeria aims to build positive economic ties with the US, citing the country’s vast reserves of gas, critical minerals and rare earths that are vital to American technology companies. “We are looking to do deals with the US,” he said, framing dialogue as the best path forward.

Reflecting on the broader implications, Tuggar maintained that forcing Nigeria to take deportees would only deepen social and economic challenges at home.

“It will be difficult for a country like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria. We have enough problems of our own, we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria, for crying out loud,” he concluded.

The diplomatic standoff highlights growing friction as the US steps up its deportation agenda and African nations resist becoming hosts for migrants who have no connection to their countries.

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the United States had begun a large-scale deportation operation affecting over 1.4 million noncitizens, as the Trump administration moves forward with its immigration crackdown.

The deportations, targeting individuals with final removal orders, span more than 150 countries, making this one of the most extensive removal efforts in U.S. history.

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Source: Legit.ng