Ngozi Louis Uzomah

University of Nigeria, Nsukka & Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

Visiting Toronto Metropolitan University

Winter 2026

Ngozi Uzomah’s research explores cross-border mobility, forced displacement and return, and reintegration policies in West Africa. He earned his PhD in Population Geography from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, using qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the return migration of Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria. He has conducted field-based research on EU border technologies in Africa, intra-regional trade challenges in ECOWAS border regions, and displacement in the Lake Chad borderlands.

Ngozi teaches migration, diaspora, and development at the Centre for Migration Studies (external link) , Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. He has consulted for Global Initiative TOC on mobility and conflict dynamics in the Nigeria–Cameroon borderlands, and serves as the Principal Investigator for Nigeria in the EU-funded project, GAPs: Decentering the Study of Migrant Returns and Readmission Policies. (external link) His work contributes to academic and policy networks that advance inclusive migration governance. He is a member of IMISCOE’s Steering Committee on Forced Migration and Refugees, IASFM, Association for Borderlands Studies, African Borderlands Research Network, and Nigeria’s Technical Working Group on Migration.

Research focus while a Bridging Divides Future Leaders Fellow

During his postdoctoral fellowship at the Bridging Divides, Ngozi will examine the intersection of advanced digital technologies and border governance in West Africa, using case studies from The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria. His research investigates how biometric systems, surveillance technologies and border management infrastructures shape cross-border mobility, privacy and human rights. In academic collaboration with Professor Idil Atak, he will join Bridging Divides scholars and colleagues at TMU in examining the impact of digital technologies on cross-border movement and mobility governance. His project will foster interdisciplinary dialogue on migration justice, data ethics, and global mobility governance.

Selected publications

With Madu, I. A. (2025). Reassessing return migration governance: insights on Nigeria’s return migration infrastructures. Country Dossier WP3 (v1.). GAPs: De-centring the Study of Migrant Returns and Readmission Policies in Europe and Beyond. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15222377 (external link)

With Madu, I. A., Ajaero, C. K. & Ezea, E. J. (2024). Navigating the complexities of return migration and reintegration: challenges and opportunities for Nigerian migrants from North Africa in the context of EU policies. Working Paper, GAPs: De-centring the Study of Migrant Returns and Readmission Policies in Europe and Beyond. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14238373 (external link)

(2024). European Union border technology in Africa: Experiences en route. Population, Space and Place, 30(8), e2824. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2824 (external link)

(2024). Crossing boundaries: Nature of corruption at Nigeria’s boundary with Benin. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 29(11.3), 06–16. https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-2911030616 (external link)

(2021). Failing Nigeria once again – Views on the EU’s new pact for migration and asylum from Nigeria. Migration-Control, Blog: https://migration-control.info/en/blog/views-on-the-new-pact-from-nigeria/ (external link)

Selected presentations

(2025, July 1–4). Digital dilemmas: The effects of EU border technologies on displaced persons and cross-border migration in Africa [Conference presentation]. 22nd IMISCOE Annual Conference, Panel: Decentring Digital Surveillance, Aubervilliers–Paris, France (external link) .

(2025, March 11). Family, community and the journey: Understanding irregular migration from Nigeria [Workshop presentation]. Scholars of Excellence Workshop, CERC Migration, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada.

(2025, January 16). Transnational mobility: Exploring the role of digitalisation in shaping identities among the Igbo diaspora in Benin [Seminar presentation]. Le Jeudi POMAF Seminar (external link) .

(2022, August 1–5). Voices of refugees: Coping with vulnerabilities through counseling, sensitisation and empowerment in Cameroonian refugee communities in Nigeria [Conference panel chair]. 19th International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) Conference, Universidade Católica de Santos, Brazil. Supported by (PDF file) UNHCR, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and Gerda Henkel Foundation.

With Abdullahi, M. (2022, September 10–11). Security and trade in African borderlands: Regional trade facilitation initiatives [Conference presentation]. African Borderlands Research Network (ABORNE) Annual Meeting, OECD/Sahel & (PDF file) University of Florida, Paris, France. (external link)