Asylum is the protection granted by a state or a foreign government to someone who has left his home country due to some political unrest in his country making it unsafe for him to continually reside in the home country.
It is also a form of political protection which allows an individual to remain in a foreign country instead of being removed, sent back to his home country or deported to a country where he or she fears persecution or harm.
People who flee their countries because they fear persecution or prosecution by the government for taking a stand on a reasonable or justifiable cause against the government can apply for asylum and be protected as a refugee in a foreign nation.
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Seeking asylum, which is often referred to as seeking international protection, is the act of asking for protection in another man’s country. Those who seek asylum have a fear for their lives in their home nation for either being persecuted or killed and are forced to flee to seek refuge in a foreign country where they will be safe.
When someone applies for asylum, he will be granted refugee status in the foreign host country: a person granted asylum is called a political refugee or an asylee.
Some countries of the world that are notable for granting refuge to asylum seekers include; the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, Canada, the USA, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Norway etc.
When asylum is granted, it means that the asylee or the refugee seeker is to be taken care of (housed and fed) at the expense of the government of the host country (in most cases) until the asylee can be properly integrated into the country and will have the opportunity to live and work legally in the host country and will eventually have the opportunity to apply for lawful permanent residence and citizenship if he so wishes and if the laws of the host government permit.
Many notable politicians in Nigeria have at some point in history applied to be political refugees in some countries of the world; for instance, the defunct Biafra leader, the late Mazi Chukeuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu fled the country at the peak of the Nigeria civil war and was granted asylum in Ivory Coast, a neighbouring west African country, also, a famous Nigerian Disc Jockey, Miss Obianuju Catherine Udeh professionally known as DJ Switch was rumoured to have fled the country after the October 2020 incident which placed her life at risk and is currently residing in a foreign country as a refugee. Nelson Mandela was as well once hosted as a refugee in Nigeria at the peak of the apartheid struggle in South Africa
Nations of the world are always eager to welcome citizens of North Korea who can flee the country with open arms and grant them asylum due to the draconian laws enforced in North Korea. The same applies to women who can flee middle eastern nations like Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc due to harsh laws against the female gender are granted asylums as well in most countries of the world.
When a person has been granted asylum in another sovereign nation, the home nation of the asylee ceases to have the power to persecute or prosecute that person unless he has been legally repatriated or deported by the host country.