Foreign
Certificate verification: Nigerian nurses in UK, US forced back home
The sudden deactivation of the verification portal by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria in February has plunged countless Nigerian nurses and midwives working abroad into turmoil.
Currently, healthcare workers are encountering hurdles in renewing their licences and meeting the regulatory requirements set by international bodies.
Already, some nurses without the necessary verification from the NMCN find themselves in violation of visa conditions and employment laws, resulting in legal consequences.
Many nurses abroad, including United Kingdom and United States, had been forced to return to the country over the issue.
Among them is a nurse, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid being ridiculed.
He recalled how he was thrilled to join the UK Trust, a prestigious healthcare organisation, to contribute his skills to the country’s medical community after moving from Nigeria in September 2023.
His hope was, however, dashed when the council deactivated the verification portal.
He claimed to have completed a series of exams and navigated the complex process of document checks, and all that remained was to get his pin as a registered nurse from the verification portal.
Desperate to resolve the issue, he said he reached out to the NMCN, hoping for assistance. However the council’s policy prevented any further verification on the closed portal.
The UK Trust, bound by its policies, reportedly terminated his employment due to his inability to meet the certification criteria.
He said, “The situation is not only saddening but also suicidal. My career is stagnated because the portal is closed. I’m in Nigeria now. I have gone to the nursing council on several occasions to tell them that even if they should write a letter of good standing and send it to them, they would be happy to acknowledge it. But my efforts were futile.
“Meanwhile, the court case against the council regarding the verification process has been withdrawn, but the portal remains closed. This is a matter that has affected even many people who refused to speak up at that time. In the next few weeks, the number of nurses who will return to this country to either commit suicide or start afresh will be many.”
Voicing her concerns, a worried Nigerian nurse based in the UK, who identified herself only as Ovie, said without completing her verification, she would be unable to become a registered nurse, lamenting that this had created uncertainty about her future.
“I am a registered nurse from Nigeria, and I moved to the UK in February this year to pursue a nursing top-up programme to become a UK-registered nurse. My initial plan was to complete my verification process while studying so that I could work as a part-time nurse to pay tuition fees and support myself.
“Unfortunately, just before I arrived, the NMCN suspended the verification for nurses, which has prevented me from pursuing my registration.
“What initially seemed like a temporary maintenance issue has turned into months of uncertainty, with no clear timeline for when the verification process will resume. This has made it challenging to navigate my studies, future career plans, and overall stay in the UK.
“The ongoing suspension of the verification process has significant implications for me. Without completing my verification, I am unable to become a registered nurse in the UK, which limits my employment opportunities and affects my ability to support myself financially. This has created uncertainty about my future as I approach the end of my studies,” she explained.
The nurse lamented that she risked deportation due to the delay in her verification.
She said, “My student visa will expire soon, and without the ability to work as a nurse, I am at risk of having to return to Nigeria or seek alternative means to remain in the UK.”
Another nurse, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of intimidation, said her passion for nursing led her to the UK, but the journey did not proceed as smoothly as she hoped. She is also faced with the same hurdle—closure of the verification portal.
The closure meant she could not schedule her CBT, and without it, she was stuck in limbo.
“I travelled to the UK last year (not as a registered nurse) and passed my English test this January. I have not been able to write a Computer-Based Test to proceed to other things due to the closure of the verification portal,” she said.
A nurse based in Saudi Arabia, identified as Hannah, said she travelled to the country in 2023 to practise as a nurse, but her future had become uncertain.
She confessed that the weight of the situation was taking a toll on her.
As the looming threat of deportation casts a dark shadow over her life, Hannah said she is in a state of frustration and despair.
NANNM reacts
Speaking with our correspondent, President of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Michael Nnachi, said the group had engaged the government on several demands, including the reopening of the portal.
He noted that a committee was recently formed to review ongoing discussions.
He said, “If we don’t receive a positive response soon, I can’t predict what will happen next. I believe the message we are sending is that we have engaged the government. I can’t give an exact date, whether tomorrow or the day after, but I know there is hope. I prefer not to speak beyond what I am authorised to say.
“I would advise our affected members to remain patient. We are deeply concerned about the difficulties they are facing, and we are not comfortable with the situation. However, patience is necessary at this time. Finally, in many cases, even when agreements are reached with the government, they often fail to fulfil their promises. I remain hopeful and expect a positive response from the government. There is hope.”
The Deputy National President of the association, Abubakar Shehu, expressed displeasure over the delay in activating the verification portal.
He said, “There are lots of intricacies in the issue of this portal, and we are not happy, honestly speaking. We are not the only health professionals migrating from Nigeria to other countries. Doctors, pharmacists, and lab scientists are leaving, so why only nurses?
“We have held a series of meetings with the Registrar of NMCN; we went to the Ministry of Health and met with the Minister of Health. He was told that we are the critical stakeholders and they were supposed to have engaged us before even deciding to close the portal. You were meant to engage us so that we could sit down and discuss. We have a lot of nurses and midwives outside the labour market and they are not employed. You didn’t give somebody employment and you don’t want to allow the person to move to another place for greener pastures. It’s not done like that.”
Shehu, however, said the NMCN registrar recently promised that the portal would be opened soon.
“The registrar has assured us that the portal will be opened. So, we are waiting to see. He gave the assurance last week,” he added.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.
Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.
The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.
Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centred in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
The family of Philip Ifeanyi Elobuike, an indigene of Eziama Village, Ebe, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, has appealed to the public for assistance in locating him after his photograph surfaced on social media following nearly two years without contact.
Elobuike first travelled to the United States around 2004 and initially settled in the Los Angeles area of California. He later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Dallas, Texas.
According to his family, Elobuike remained in contact with his relatives in Nigeria until around 2024, when communication with him suddenly stopped. Before losing contact, he was active on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
His family had continued searching for him, and on August 11, 2026, they were relieved when his photograph surfaced on social media. The picture provided them with at least some reassurance that he was alive.
Elobuike Philip
However, contrary to reports circulating in some media outlets and on social media, Elobuike has not been reunited with his family or located by his kinsmen in the United States.
His relatives and members of the Nigerian community reportedly spent the entire day on August 12 searching for him in different parts of Dallas but were unable to locate him.
The family is therefore appealing to members of the public, particularly Nigerians and other individuals in the Dallas area, to assist in locating Elobuike and ensuring that he is safely reunited with his family.
The family also urged people to disregard reports claiming that he has already been found and reunited with his relatives, describing such reports as inaccurate.
Anyone who has information about Elobuike’s whereabouts or comes across him is urged to contact any of the following:
Dr. Fred Ngwu: (214) 418-8145
Moses Onyejekwe: (213) 479-2340
Law Okolo: (646) 302-2597
The family expressed appreciation to everyone who has shared his photograph and appealed for continued circulation of the information until he is successfully located.
No fewer than 205 Nigerians were deported from Canada in June 2026 as Canadian authorities intensified enforcement of the country’s immigration laws, according to official figures released by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Immigration removal statistics published by the CBSA showed that 10,607 individuals were removed from Canada during the month, with Nigerians ranking among the top 10 nationalities affected by the exercise.
The figures indicate that Nigerians accounted for nearly two per cent of all removals carried out in June.
India recorded the highest number of deportations, with 3,323 nationals removed, followed by Mexico with 1,573. The United States accounted for 372 deportees, while Colombia and Romania recorded 354 and 293 removals respectively.
Other countries with significant numbers of nationals deported included Bangladesh, with 227, and Pakistan, with 207.
Explaining the rationale behind the removals, the CBSA said enforcing immigration laws was critical to protecting the integrity of Canada’s immigration system.
“Removing individuals who do not have the right to enter or stay in Canada is essential to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s immigration program and to ensuring fairness for those who come to this country lawfully,” the agency stated.
The latest figures underscore Canada’s continued enforcement against individuals found to have no legal right to remain in the country, as authorities seek to ensure compliance with the nation’s immigration laws.
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