More 30,000 Nigerians are currently awaiting deportation in Germany after their failed bid to gain asylum in the European country.

This was disclosed by Femi Awoniyi, the director of Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN), a campaign group, in Abuja.

While addressing the media, Awoniyi revealed that Nigerians form a great number of the hundreds of illegal migrants from Africa who die in the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert while trying to make dangerous trips abroad.

He said Nigerians have the highest rate of rejection among sub-Saharan asylum applicants in the European Union becuase the European body does not consider Nigeria as a country where there is political persecution.

He said, "This year alone, more than 1,500 migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, many of them Nigerians. This is not even counting those who have died travelling through the Sahara Desert, or in the transit countries.

"Everybody knows that more than half of Saharan migrants in Africa are Nigerians. We cannot count the number of people who die in the Sahara Desert. Experts say more people die in the Sahara Desert than the Mediterranean.

"For those who are lucky to reach Europe, a difficult struggle to obtain legal residency begins. More than 30,000 Nigerians are currently awaiting deportation in Germany alone.

"Their asylum claims have been rejected since Nigeria is not considered by the European Union as a country where there is political persecution."

Awoniyi said MEPN is committed to raising awareness on the dangers that Nigerians face when they decide to take unsafe routes to migrate to foreign countries where they believe opportunities abound.