No fewer than 1,425 international students who gained admission to universities in the United Kingdom were denied entry at the country’s airports between 2021 and 2023.

A total of 161 Nigerians were affected, as they were removed on arrival at airports across the UK.

According to data exclusively obtained from the UK Home Office through the Freedom of Information Act, India topped the list of affected foreign students with 644, representing 45 per cent of the figure, while Nigeria followed with 11.3 per cent. Ghana is third on the list with 92 (6.46 per cent), while Bangladesh is fourth with 90 (6.32 per cent).

However, the released data, covering October 2021 to October 2023, is limited to students denied entry at the airports. It does not include international students deported by the Home Office for violating the terms of their visas, such as working beyond 20 hours weekly and academic malpractice.

The Home Office did not also specify the reasons for the removal of the foreign students.

But Saturday PUNCH gathered that some of the reasons for such decisions included the inability of students to convince the Border Force officers during checks at the airports, presentation of forged documents, and deficiency in English language usage.

An immigration lawyer based in North London, UK, Dele Olawanle, in a post on X in September 2023, decried the maltreatment of students and called on the UK Government to rein in Border Force officers, whom he said had turned themselves to admission officers.

Olawanle lamented that three students contacted him for help within three hours after facing threats of removal at the airports.

He wrote, “UK border officers have turned themselves into university officials at the point of entry by questioning students entering the UK to start their course on some aspects of the course they are going to start. If they do not answer correctly, they have their visas cancelled, and some are removed from the UK. Sad! I have had three instructions on that in the last 24 hours.

“It is not their job because most of these students were interviewed by the university before being offered a place on the course. Most of these Border Force officers have not even been to university and are not qualified to examine these foreign students on their academic knowledge.

“I can say this as I have had dealings with them for the last 24 years. Their job is to make sure the students obtain entry clearance genuinely. If you are a student coming to start your course, be prepared for immigration officers turning themselves into university examiners.”

A data analyst, Nelly Okechukwu, who claimed he narrowly escaped screening at one of the airports, also shared his experience.

He wrote, “After going through a 16-hour flight, a border officer asked for my transcript, which I presented, and this lady started asking me to tell her about a course I studied in my 200-level in the university. A university I graduated from since 2012.”

Student admissions

A total of 679,970 foreign students were admitted to UK universities for the 2021/2022 academic year, according to data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Nigeria had the highest number of foreign students with 44,195 out of the 68,320 African citizens studying in the UK for the 2021/2022 academic year.

HESA data also shows that the number of students from Nigeria rose to 72,355 in the 2022/2023 academic year, with the explanation that the data relates to students enrolled between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023.

Nigerian students and their dependents in the UK contributed an estimated £1.9bn to the economy of the country in one year, according to an analysis by SBM Intelligence. The data covered the 2021/2022 academic session.

According to the data, international students contributed £41.9bn to the UK economy in the 2021/22 academic year.

The Universities UK International, which is the umbrella body for universities in the country, said it couldn’t comment on the data of student removals.

The organisation, in response to Saturday PUNCH inquiries, however, noted that immigrants on student visas who were removed at the border were far less than those admitted.

“We are not a government agency or sponsor. So, we don’t hold data on this and therefore can’t comment, but we are sharing the points below on background for context:

“Home Office data from 2021-2024 (year ending March) suggests 1,541,837 study visas were granted to main applicants over the period. Assuming the quoted numbers are correct, then those not admitted to the UK would represent less than 0.01% of all those on study visas. We cannot comment on the reasons for refusal or what happens after that – and it will depend on the specifics of the case.”

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission said it did not get any report from students who were removed at UK airports.

A spokesperson for the commission, Abdulrahman Balogun, said, “No student has ever reported being rejected at the port of entry for no just cause.”

The Director of a foreign education consulting firm, Story Across Globe, Mr Emmanuel Gbadega, said a foreign student or any other immigrant might be rejected at the port of entry if the individual couldn’t explain his or her mission in the country.

Gbadega said anybody who looked suspicious could be rejected and returned to their country by the Border Force.

He said, “They have been doing that for many years. You can be rejected by the Border Force when you look suspicious; probably they find out that you are not coming to study. The students could have been rejected as a result of incompetence; they could have failed an interview.”

Gbadega explained that any foreign student who was removed at the port of entry could seek a refund from his university by notifying the institution of their challenge.

Commenting on the matter, an immigration lawyer, Adeola Oyinlade, tasked Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NIDCOM to be concerned on the removal of Nigerian students at foreign airports.

He also enjoined any student who was denied entry to a foreign country to abide by that decision to avoid being banned for 10 years.

Another immigration lawyer, Dr Yemi Opemuti, said the Border Force did not commit any infraction by removing the affected students, adding that the officers reserved the right to approve or disapprove entry into their country.

According to Opemuti, having a visa does not guarantee entry into a country, adding that customs or immigration officers have the power to invalidate a visa at the port of entry.

“When you are issued a visa from your country of origin, it’s conditional and subject to the approval of customs or immigration agents in your country of destination. A visa can be cancelled based on the response of the migrant to an interview at the entry point.

“They have the right to deny you entry or deport you if you cannot give them convincing answers to their queries,” he added.

The UK Home Affairs and British High Commission in Nigeria did not respond to inquiries made via email sent by our correspondent on August 14.

There has been a sharp decline in the number of Nigerians going to the UK to study as a result of the ban on dependents of student visa, a policy that came into effect in January 2024.

Also, the devaluation of the naira, which resulted in an increased exchange rate, weakened the financial strength of many Nigerians to sponsor themselves or their children to the UK for study.

The British Government has awarded 82 Nigerians the prestigious Chevening and Commonwealth scholarships to study a wide range of master’s degrees and PhD programmes in the UK in 2024.

This year, 32 scholars received the Chevening scholarship, and 50 scholars have been awarded the Commonwealth scholarship so far.

A pre-departure ceremony was held in Abuja yesterday for scholars based in Abuja and environs, while a similar ceremony will hold in Lagos next week and will be hosted by the Deputy Head of Mission, Abby Bernard, for scholars in Lagos and nearby cities.

At the Abuja pre-departure reception yesterday, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Mrs Gill Lever, congratulated beneficiaries who succeeded in securing a scholarship through the highly competitive application and interview process.

Speaking at the ceremony, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Mrs Gill Lever, said: “The UK continues to support the educational development of Nigerians and remain transparent and inclusive in the selection process across the board.

“I challenge each of you to aim for excellence in your studies, to be great ambassadors for Nigeria in the UK, and to take advantage of every opportunity during your scholarship—through growing your knowledge, enriching cultural exchange, and confident networking—and then bringing those experiences back to Nigeria and doing great things for your country while creating a positive change in this country and the world.”

Speaking at the reception, Director Operations, British Council Nigeria, Idowu Akintade, said: “We hope the skills and knowledge you gain from this scholarship opportunity prepare you to make a positive impact on the development priorities of Nigeria.

“I encourage you all to build a strong network and continue to be great ambassadors of the prestigious Commonwealth and Chevening Scholarships.”

A Nigerian woman based in Canada, Amaka Sunnberger, is under probe for threatening to poison Nigerians of Yoruba and Benin extractions.

A representative of the Toronto Police Service, Sergeant Bassey Osagie, said investigation had begun into the matter.

“This incident has been reported to the Toronto Police Service and is currently under investigation,” Osagie said.

The House of Representatives and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission had petitioned the Canadian authorities, demanding an investigation and prosecution of the woman.

Nigerians woke up on Wednesday to a viral video of the woman, who was on a TikTok live with some other persons, threatening to ensure mass killings of the Yoruba and Benin people living in Canada.

Sunnberger, who boasted that she lived in Ontario, Canada, said she would begin to poison the food and water of Nigerians immediately after she got to her place of work.

Hours after the threat went viral, the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, revealed her identity with her photo.

She further sent a petition to the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, to call attention to the threat.

Reacting to the video, the House of Reps, in a letter to the Canadian government, requested that Sunnberger be prosecuted.

The letter, addressed to the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jamie Christoff, said Sunnberger’s inflammatory statements constituted a direct threat to Nigerians.

The letter read in part, “In the light of the seriousness of these violations, we respectfully request the following actions: Investigation: an immediate and thorough investigation should be conducted into Ms. Sunberger’s actions by Canadian law enforcement and appropriate authorities.”

Reacting to the lawmakers’ demand, Sunnberger, in another video, dismissed the request for her arrest, affirming that she held a Canadian passport.

She said, “Somebody just sends me a message, say them arrest me, say them wan deport me, with passport? I be Canada pikin.

“See am now, I dey house, why I go dey lie?”

While speaking in Pidgin, Sunnberger had said she hated the Yoruba and Benin people.

She said, “It is time to start poisoning the Yorubas and the Benin. Put poison in all your foods at work. Put poison in all your water so that you all will begin dying one after the other.

“You all will not die one day. You will start falling sick for a long time. I will put Otapiapia (rat poison) inside your waters and foods. You people will never recover from the poison.

“This kind of hatred I have for you people will last forever. In all your foods, I will put Otapiapia,” as others at the meeting reminded her of other poisons including Eat and Die, Sniper.

She added, “I will put them in all your foods. If I go to work tomorrow, I will put it (poison) in Yoruba people’s food. Go and tell the government that I’m in Canada, I’m in Ontario. Hurry up, go fast.

“I will put Otapiapia, I will put Ogbomosho inside your foods. You will start hearing that Yorubas have died, Benins have died. I’m the one saying it.

“I want Igbos to have a heart of wickedness. You people are too quiet. You are too cool. Enough is enough. If you have a means of killing them, kill them out of the way, because they are too foolish. They are of no use to society. Lots of prostitutes and everything.”

Why we celebrated Bichi’s exit – DSS officers

The reasons the immediate past Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, and the DG of the National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Abubakar, resigned from their positions have been revealed.

Sources within the Presidency told Saturday PUNCH that President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, questioned the intelligence gathering mechanisms of the two agencies following the violent nature of the #EndBadGovernance protests in some northern states and the seizure of three presidential aircraft in France.

While Bichi was held responsible for lack of functional intelligence on the protest, Abubakar was reportedly queried for the NIA’s inability to have reports ahead of the seizure of the jets by a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited.

A French court had sanctioned the seizure of three Nigerian presidential jets, including a newly purchased Airbus, amid a legal dispute between Zhongshan and the Ogun State Government.

The #EndBadGovernance protest, which began on August 1, turned violent in Kano, Gombe, Yobe, Borno and Bauchi states while demonstrations in the South-West were peaceful.

During the protests in some northern states, public and private facilities were destroyed, while hoodlums looted shops and caused mayhem. This led to the imposition of curfews in Kano, Bauchi, and Plateau states.

The protest was driven by widespread hardship resulting from the removal of fuel subsidy, electricity tariff hike and the high cost of living, among other issues.

Bichi, who hails from Kano State, where widespread destruction and looting occurred, was appointed on September 14, 2018, by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Abubakar, from Katsina State, was also appointed by Buhari on January 10, 2018.

According to credible sources, Tinubu and Ribadu were embarrassed by the turn of events on the seizure of the presidential jets and the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations.

“The seizure of the presidential jets and violent nature of the #EndBadGovernance protest embarrassed the President nationally and internationally.

“The President was displeased with the NIA and DSS bosses. This was why he requested the resignation of the two security chiefs,” said one of the sources.

Another source told Saturday PUNCH that Bichi and Ribadu had been having a running battle before the protest, with the fallout from the northern demonstrations serving as the final straw.

He stated, “The former DSS DG and the NSA boss had been on bad terms for some time. Their issues escalated to the point that Bichi was unable to meet the President for a while. The Presidency finally had a valid reason to dismiss him due to the #EndBadGovernance protest.”

Abubakar announced his resignation on Saturday, August 24, after meeting with President Tinubu.

In contrast, Bichi’s resignation was announced in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Monday, August 26.

Why we celebrated Bichi’s exit – DSS officers

Bichi’s resignation elicited reactions from DSS staff and the public.

Some DSS officers, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH on condition of anonymity, described his exit as ‘freedom from unprofessionalism’.

The DSS officers listed Bichi’s alleged misconduct to include undue interference in the service’s operations by his wife and son, Yusuf Bichi.

A video of some DSS staff members allegedly celebrating Bichi’s resignation surfaced online immediately after his departure.

However, an X user, Sanusi Jibrin, said the clip was recorded at the Kogi State DSS office, where personnel were celebrating Ajayi’s appointment, as he was a former director at the state command.

A DSS officer, however, said personnel of the agency were happy with his removal.

“We believed his regime was a punishment for us. He impeded the career advancement of many officers by extending the service years of those due to retire. Some senior officers, who were due for retirement in 2021 and 2022 were retained in the service,” he stated.

Another officer alleged that Bichi was indifferent to the welfare of workers.

“The Federal Government increased our salary by 40 per cent, but there was no implementation. We were earning more than the police before, but the police are now earning more than us because they implemented their 40 per cent increment. However, there was a proposal to increase our salary by 25 per cent this year, but it has yet to be realised,” the officer said.

Speaking on the recruitment of personnel, another secret agent described Bichi’s recruitment as nepotistic.

“Bichi’s recruitments were arbitrary and lopsided. Three different training sessions have been conducted for some people we didn’t know when they were recruited this year alone. Most of the newly recruited personnel are northerners.

“His first recruitment in 2019 brought in either 420 or 450 persons from Bichi Local Government Area in Kano alone. In the history of the service, 450 was the maximum recruitment we ever had before Bichi, but he recruited 1,000 personnel at once.

“There was no southerner among the national directors and deputy directors at the headquarters until January this year when he was directed by the Presidency following a petition. His wife is another issue; she abused her husband’s office. His son, too, was power drunk.

“Just two weeks ago, his wife slapped a DSS director in a northern state. She also slapped at least two deputy directors at airports.”

Tweeps also criticised the former DSS boss, accusing him of allowing his family to abuse power because of his position.

The publisher of Daily Nigerian, Jafaar Jafaar, while commenting on X, said Bichi turned the DSS into a “graveyard of career aspirations.”

“He lowered the recruitment bar, removed the multi-layer screening process to recruit personnel who couldn’t even pass the Halogen Security aptitude test. Bichi arguably recruited the highest number of Cotonou ‘graduates’ into the service. He wilfully extended the tenure of some retired directors in his good book for years, killing the ambitions of the aspiring directors. He allowed his wife to lord over the service, influencing recruitment, promotion and discipline,” he stated.

Jafaar alleged that Bichi’s wife oppressed people with “a superfluity of everything at the expense of public funds,” adding that she moved around in a long motorcade, harassing motorists.

“She was a stormy petrel, who was majorly in the news for either assaulting her tailor for failing to meet a deadline or picking a fight with opposition politicians. His impudent, spoiled brat son shrugged off public criticism to gleefully display a fleet of luxury cars on social media.

“At the expense of public funds, he has a number of DSS operatives giving him cover at football arena, nightclub and political campaign rallies.”

Our correspondent, while checking Bichi’s son, Yusuf’s X page, saw a video clip of when he rode in a long convoy of security operatives, suspected to be men of the DSS.

In 2023, the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, had also claimed that Bichi’s wife threatened to prevent him from becoming the state governor.

The governor, in a viral video, also alleged that the woman abused and insulted him before preventing him from boarding a commercial plane.

The Executive Director of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, stated that the alleged celebration of Bichi’s resignation by some staff members did not necessarily mean he was a good or bad leader. 

According to him, workers do not like disciplined bosses who insist that everybody should do the right thing and reject corruption.

“I’m not saying the former DG is good because we could see a lot of loopholes in intelligence gathering and security issues.

“That staff and colleagues are celebrating his exit, it’s neither here nor there. It could be that he is very, very strict or it could be that he has not been taking care of their welfare and whatever.

“It could also be that he didn’t allow them to do their work the way they wanted to do it. And maybe his exit will allow them to prove their mettle, that they could work better than they were doing under him”, he added.

Illegal arrests, violation of court orders

Under the leadership of Bichi, the DSS was involved in many controversial operations, including the arrest of a former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Emefiele was arrested on June 9, 2023, and was only arraigned more than a month later.

On 25 July, despite a Federal High Court order granting him bail and ordering his transfer to a correctional centre, the DSS re-arrested him, with operatives reportedly assaulting a prison official at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, in the process.

A former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, was also a victim. He was arrested on August 3, 2019, just days before a planned protest tagged #RevolutionNow against “bad governance”.

Although released on bail on December 5, Sowore was re-arraigned on December 6.

The DSS attempted to re-arrest him inside the courtroom but were prevented by his supporters; however, they succeeded in re-arresting him outside the court.

Another case involved a citizen Anthony Okolie, who was detained by the DSS for 10 weeks for purchasing and using an MTN SIM card previously used and discarded by Hanan Buhari, the daughter of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Also, the Regional Editor of The Conversation Africa, Adejuwon Soyinka, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos last Sunday and detained for hours before his release. However, his passport was confiscated.

Efforts to reach Bichi proved unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.

Amid prolonged delays in the appointment of ambassadors to oversee Nigeria’s diplomatic missions, the Federal Government disbursed an approximate sum of N14bn to no fewer than 16 foreign missions in July 2024, findings by Saturday PUNCH have revealed.

Nigeria has 109 missions: 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates globally.

Recall that on September 2, 2023, President Bola Tinubu recalled all career and non-career ambassadors operating the country’s diplomatic missions, embassies, and consulates globally.

The envoys, which include 41 non-career ambassadors and 42 career ambassadors, were directed to return to the country on or before October 31 by Tinubu, having been appointed by the President’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, in July 2020.

Since last year, the lack of appointed ambassadors has continued to elicit public concerns over the country’s diplomatic representation and the effectiveness of its foreign missions.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, attributed the delay in the envoys’ appointments to financial and economic challenges being faced by the current administration.

Tuggar, who disclosed this during a ministerial sectoral briefing in Abuja in May, said the ministry had not been receiving the necessary funding to operate effectively.

“The whole idea was to stop subsidising consumption and focus on subsidising production. However, the government has faced various other challenges. When the microeconomic reforms began showing benefits, platforms like Binance and the rise of crypto currencies began undermining those gains,” Tuggar stated.

He noted that it was pointless to appoint ambassadors without the financial resources to support their travel and the effective running of missions abroad.

However, checks by our correspondent using GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the Federal Government’s spending, showed that the government disbursed the sum of N13.7bn for the personnel costs of 16 foreign missions.

The overseas missions are those located in The Hague (Netherlands), Tokyo (Japan), Vienna (Austria), Washington (United States), Berlin (Germany), Brasilia (Brazil), Brussels (Belgium), Paris (France), Beijing (China), Geneva (Switzerland), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), London (United Kingdom), Madrid (Spain), Moscow (Russia), New York (USA), and Ottawa (Canada).

The funds were wired through the FGN Treasury (TSA Settlement Centre) on Friday, July 19, and Monday, July 29, 2024.

On the last day, The Hague received N504,071,400, Tokyo N761,253,100, Vienna N505,361,900, Washington N1,115,260,900, Berlin N813,678,400, Brasilia N564,693,300, Brussels N593,438,800, UNESCO Paris N545,086,850, Beijing N657,566,000, Geneva N830,278,500, and Jeddah N527,993,000.

Others include London N1,233,706,800, Madrid N803,821,400, Moscow N516,013,500, New York (CG) N915,844,500, New York (PM) N1,523,174,400, Ottawa N631,663,800, and Paris N611,712,300, while New York (PM) also received N576,147,689 on the first day.

Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, a former Nigerian ambassador to Singapore, Ogbole Ode, said even though paucity of funds had hindered the appointment of the envoys, the heads of missions at the consulate level had been deployed.

He noted that in the Foreign Service accounting system, there were different subheads, one of which were for personnel, adding that the free fall of the Nigerian currency often increased the naira value of the funds the government disbursed to the overseas missions.

The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, says the command has arrested seven suspects involved in the alleged murder of a graduate of the Kwara State College of Health Technology, Mojisola Awesu.

Mojisola, 21, who was invited to Ilorin, the state capital, by a dismissed student of Summit University, Offa, Adebayo Happiness, to act as his girlfriend at a party for a fee of N15,000, was allegedly murdered in a hotel where she was lodged on Friday, August 9, 2024.

During the parade of some suspects at the police headquarters in Ilorin on Friday, Olaiya said seven suspects had been arrested in connection with the alleged murder.

The police boss said, “Those arrested included the prime suspect, Adebayo Happiness, his parents, Pastor Adebayo Adeniyi and his wife, Mrs Bukola Adeniyi; Miss Kolawola Timileyin who linked the deceased with the prime suspect as well as three workers of the hotel where she was lodged and gruesomely killed.

“The hotel workers arrested included Adeoye Adeola, Lawal Amina and Bulus Peter.”

According to the police boss, after the murder was committed, the suspect “returned to Offa and concealed the stolen phone in his hostel wardrobe. Through careful and discreet investigation, Mr and Mrs Adebayo Adeniyi, the suspect’s parents, were apprehended.

“Following their son’s arrest, they attempted to tamper with evidence by retrieving Adebayo Joshua Happiness’ belongings from his school. It was discovered that Mrs Adeniyi Bukola had removed the SIM card from the deceased’s iPhone and concealed it within a wall some distance from their residence.

“Contrary to Adebayo Joshua Happiness’ initial claim that he had discarded the phone into the Afelele River, Offa, both the iPhone and SIM card were recovered from his parents’ possession.

“After further investigation, it was discovered that the hotel staff on duty found the deceased’s body in the room and unlawfully disposed of her body at the refuse dump.”

The CP said that upon completion of the investigation, the suspects would be “duly charged to court to face the full extent of the law.

“We assure the public that the Kwara State Police Command remains committed to ensuring justice and maintaining peace and security within the community. Further updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.”

The Lagos State Police Command has apprehended a gang of robbers for allegedly targeting and robbing three commercial sex workers on Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Bode Thomas, Surulere Local Government Area of the state.

The state command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed on Friday that the two suspects, whose identities were not disclosed, were taken into custody on August 28, 2024, for their involvement in the crime.

PUNCH Online gathered that on August 23, 2024, around 4.30 pm, the suspects allegedly picked up the three sex workers from Adeniran Ogunsanya Street in Bode Thomas, seeking their services.

Pretending to drive the sex workers to a location where they falsely claimed to be staying, the suspects abruptly stopped the vehicle midway, leaving the victims in shock.

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After stopping the vehicle, the suspects allegedly robbed the sex workers of their valuables, including two iPhones worth N1.5m , a Redmi Note 12 valued at N140,000, and an iPhone XR valued at N240,000.

According to the police, the victims were coerced into transferring additional N25,000 and N8,000 to a single account provided by the suspects during the incident.

Hundeyin stated, “The victims reported recognising the suspects who had robbed them. They stated that they were picked up as commercial sex workers on Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Bode Thomas. The suspects were arrested.

“During the investigation, the suspects confessed to the crime. One of the victims’ phones, a Redmi Note 13, a Toyota Camry (golden colour) with the number plate APP 335 JA, and two other blank plates used in their operations have been recovered.”

PUNCH Online reports that incidents involving robbers and sex workers are not uncommon in Lagos and Ogun States.

In 2018, operatives of the Rapid Response Team apprehended a gang of robbers who specialised in stealing from sex workers in Ogun State and selling the stolen items to other sex workers in Lagos.

Men from Zone 16 of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested a fake medical doctor, Doubara Esamasuode, operating without a licence in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

In a statement signed and released on Wednesday by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Emonena Gunn, the arrest was described as “a display of unwavering commitment to upholding the rule of law and ensuring public safety.”

The statement noted that Esamasuode was operating under St. Maximilian Medical Centre, located at Winners Junction in the Etegwe area of Yenagoa. It added that his arrest was based on credible intelligence provided by the zone’s Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Paul Omata.

Items recovered during a search of the medical centre included injection syringes, drugs, hospital equipment, photographs of his fake convocation, hospital folders, and 200 copies of images of an ultrasound report.

  

The suspect confessed to “various offences, including being a fake medical doctor, operating an illegal medical facility, forgery, and impersonation.”

The AIG reiterated his personnel’s dedication to protecting the lives and property of citizens within his jurisdiction and the nation at large.

“This parade serves as a testament to the ongoing work being done to maintain law and order and instil a sense of security within our environment.” 

The statement said the arrest “sends a clear message that criminal activities will not be tolerated,” adding that “the investigation is ongoing, and he will be charged to court in due course.”

The police have called on the public to continue cooperating with law enforcement agencies by providing timely information that can aid in the investigation and apprehension of criminal elements.

The Katsina State Police Command on Friday announced that it arrested three suspected notorious gun runners and recovered a large cache of live ammunition along Dutsinma town in the state.

Their arrest, according to the Command’s Spokesman, ASP Abubakar Sadiq, was part of the significant breakthrough in its fight against armed banditry and gunrunning.

The suspects are Ahmed Mohammed Kabir, 25, of Hayin Danmani quarters, Kaduna State; Mannir Musa, 25, of Dutsinma town, Dutsinma LGA and Aliyu Iliya, 25, of Dankauye village via Ummadau, Safana LGA, Katsina State.

They were apprehended on 29th August 2024, at about 1245 hours, while attempting to deliver seven hundred and forty (740) rounds of live 7.62mm ammunition to suspected armed bandits in Yauni forest, Ummadau village, Safana LGA of Katsina State, according to the police.

ASP Sadiq in a press briefing held at the Command Headquarters, Katsina, said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects received the ammunition from Nasarawa State to deliver to one Harisu, a suspected notorious armed bandits’ kingpin currently at large.

Noting that the trio has confessed to their involvement and implicated Harisu as the mastermind, the command said it is working tirelessly to apprehend more suspects and bring them to justice.

“This achievement demonstrates our commitment to combating armed banditry and gunrunning in Katsina State and beyond”, Sadiq added.

In a related development, the command said it has on the 27th August, 2024, arrested the trio of one Abubakar Ibrahim, m, age 35, of Dunawa village, Niger Republic; Abdullahi Nafi’u, m, age 35, Madalla quarters, Abuja, and Adam Musa, m, age 36, of Kano State, in connection with a suspected case of armed robbery at Baure LGA of Katsina State.

“The fact of the case is that on 3rd August, 2024, the command received a complaint that on the same date at about 0130 hrs, a three-man gang of suspected armed robbers criminally conspired and attacked the residence of one Ukashatu Isah, m, of Kofar Arewa quarters, Baure LGA, Katsina State, where they robbed him of his two (2) mobile phones, one Samsung Galaxy M32 and one Itel A12, at gunpoint.

“Also, the suspects, using the stolen mobile phones, criminally transferred a total sum of six million naira (6,000,000.00) from the victim’s bank account into three (3) different bank accounts.

“Upon receipt of the report, promptly, detectives swung into action, where they successfully traced and arrested the trio in connection with the offence.

“During the investigation, the suspects confessed to the commission of the offense and would soon be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigations”, he noted.

The Nigeria Football Federation has been forced to abandon its agreement with German coach Bruno Labbadia to lead the Super Eagles, citing complications arising from strict German tax regulations, Soccernet.ng reports.

The deal fell apart after the NFF refused to shoulder the additional tax burden, which could have amounted to between 32% and 40% of Labbadia’s salary.

NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau revealed that while both parties had initially reached an agreement in principle, the unexpected tax issue became a sticking point.

“We have been on the tax issue for the past three days, and I told him clearly that there was no way the NFF will agree to offset the concomitant tax percentage on his salary that will be demanded by German tax authorities,” Gusau said. “We were doing our best to be flexible in the discussions, but he was adamant that the NFF had to pay the full tax amount as well. We simply cannot do that.”

With the Labbadia deal now off the table, the NFF has turned to its Technical Director, Coach Augustine Eguavoen, to lead the Super Eagles in their upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches.

Eguavoen, who is stepping in for his fourth stint as head coach, will guide the team in crucial matches against Benin Republic on September 7 in Uyo and Rwanda on September 10 in Kigali.

Eguavoen’s appointment brings a familiar face back to the helm of the three-time African champions, but the sudden change in leadership just days before the qualifiers has raised concerns about the team’s readiness for the challenges ahead.