Nigeria has firmly rejected pressure from the United States to accept Venezuelan deportees, including individuals who were recently released from prison, saying the country is already grappling with its own internal challenges.

Speaking from Brazil during the BRICS summit, Nigeria's foreign affairs minister Yusuf Tuggar told Channels TV on Thursday night that the request by Washington is not something the country can accommodate.

"You have to also bear in mind that the U.S. is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans to be deported from the U.S., some straight out of prison," Tuggar said.

"It will be difficult for a country like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria. We have enough problems of our own," he added, referring to the country's population of over 230 million people.

The minister's remarks came in response to ongoing efforts by the US government under President Donald Trump to accelerate deportations, especially in cases where sending individuals back to their home countries has been delayed or complicated.

Earlier this week, Trump hosted five African presidents of Liberia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon at the White House.

According to both US and Liberian officials, part of the discussion involved a proposal for African nations to take in migrants from other regions, including Venezuela, who are being deported by the United States.

An internal State Department document, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, had reportedly been sent to the African governments ahead of the meeting. It called on them to support the “dignified, safe, and timely transfer from the United States” of third-country nationals.

The White House did not issue any response when asked for comment regarding the discussions or Tuggar’s remarks.

Since his return to office in January, Trump has made deportation a top priority of his administration’s immigration policy, including expanding the practice of sending migrants to third countries if returning them home proves difficult.

But for Nigeria, which is already facing economic, social and security challenges, Tuggar made it clear that taking in former prisoners from another continent is not an option.