The United States has described a recent counterterrorism operation in Nigeria as one of its most significant successes in the fight against jihadist groups, recovering what it calls the largest cache of enemy electronic equipment since the September 11, 2001 attacks.Politics

Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the U.S. National Security Council, made the disclosure in an interview with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit.

Gorka stated that U.S. operatives, in coordination with Nigerian forces, conducted a raid approximately three weeks ago that neutralised 199 jihadists in a single operation.

“That is the biggest neutralisation of enemy killed in action since September 11. Two hundred and ninety-nine jihadists who will not harm Americans again,” Gorka said.

He added that the operation yielded an intelligence haul so substantial that an additional aircraft was required to transport the recovered electronic materials.

“We needed an extra plane to bring home all the electronic material that we captured in those camps. The haul was three times bigger than any enemy electronics haul since 9/11,” he said.

According to Gorka, the recovered materials are being analysed for intelligence on Islamic State (ISIS) and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) communication networks, financing, operational planning and international links.

Speaking on how the operation was authorised, Gorka said President Donald Trump approved the mission after being briefed on the threat posed by the targeted militants.

“We told the President, this man has killed Americans and is planning to kill Americans. He ticked the ‘go box’ on the operational orders we had in front of him.”

Gorka also said Africa has increasingly become a focus for ISIS because of vast ungoverned territories where extremist groups can regroup after defeats elsewhere.

He further disclosed that the administration’s current counterterrorism campaign has resulted in the neutralisation of more than 1,000 jihadists globally.

Details of the specific location and exact date of the raid were not publicly specified, although reports have linked it to operations in Borno State targeting ISWAP elements, including the reported elimination of a high-value target.

The announcement underscores ongoing U.S.-Nigeria security cooperation against terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin and the wider Sahel. Nigerian and U.S. forces have collaborated on intelligence sharing, training and equipment support in efforts to combat Boko Haram and ISWAP.Demographics

No independent verification of the casualty figures or the scale of the intelligence recovered had been released by Nigerian authorities as of the time of reporting.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a sweeping reform of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), marking the first comprehensive restructuring of the scheme since its establishment 53 years ago.

The landmark reforms, approved during Monday’s FEC meeting in Abuja, are aimed at transforming the NYSC into a skills-driven, productivity-focused institution that aligns with the Federal Government’s economic development agenda.

One of the most significant changes is the restructuring of the scheme’s leadership, with the NYSC to be headed by a civilian for the first time, while the military will continue to provide security support for corps members across the country.

To give legal effect to the reforms, the Council directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to amend the NYSC Act and other relevant regulations.

Announcing the development on Monday, the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, described the decision as the first holistic review of the NYSC since its creation in 1973.

“We are transforming the Scheme into a platform that not only unites Nigeria but also equips our young people with the skills, experience and opportunities they need to thrive in a fast-changing world,” the minister said.

According to Olawande, the reforms are designed to reposition the NYSC as “a skills-driven, productivity-focused and youth-empowering institution” in line with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy.

The approved reforms include a technology-driven call-up process, risk-sensitive deployment to enhance the safety of corps members, a redesigned six-week orientation programme with greater emphasis on leadership, entrepreneurship, digital skills and specialised career tracks, as well as skills-based primary assignments aligned with graduates’ academic backgrounds and career aspirations.

Other changes include modern governance with civilian operational leadership, improved orientation camp standards through a national grading and certification system, a new graduation ceremony to replace the traditional Passing Out Parade, and a redesigned NYSC uniform aimed at promoting professionalism and national pride.

Olawande disclosed that the reform process began in 2025 following extensive consultations involving the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, the Federal Ministry of Education, and the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination.

“This is more than a reform of an institution. It is an investment in Nigeria’s greatest asset—our young people. The future of the NYSC begins now, and it is brighter, more relevant and more impactful than ever,” he added.

Established in 1973 after the Nigerian Civil War, the NYSC was created to foster national unity by deploying graduates to states outside their regions of origin for one year of compulsory national service.

The latest reforms represent the most far-reaching changes in the history of the scheme, with the Federal Government saying they will make the NYSC more relevant to Nigeria’s evolving economic and youth development priorities.

The United Kingdom rejected at least 1,344,595 Nigerian visa applications between 2005 and the first quarter of 2026, official Home Office data reveals.

The rejection rate places Nigeria second globally in total visa refusals, behind only India and ahead of Pakistan and China, among others, as Nigerians alone accounted for 44.4 per cent of all UK visa rejections across Africa in the period.

Over the 21-year period, the UK also granted 2,723,558 visas to Nigerians, making it the third-highest total issued to any nationality in the world, behind only India and China.

The data showed that Nigeria was the largest single recipient of UK entry clearance visas in Africa, ahead of South Africa (1,638,538) and Egypt (695,606).

The figures are drawn from the UK Home Office’s entry clearance visa outcomes datasets, covering the first quarter of 2005 through the first quarter of 2026, obtained by The PUNCH from the UK government’s immigration system statistics data tables published in 2026.

The dataset covers all decisions across visitor, study, work, family, and other visa routes.

For Nigeria, the cumulative refusal rate over the 21-year period stood at 33.1 per cent, more than double the UK’s global average of 14.8 per cent.

Of the approximately 4.09 million Nigerian applications submitted, 4,068,153 received issued or refused decisions.

Nigeria’s 1.34 million refusals accounted for 15.2 per cent of all 8,829,638 UK visa refusals worldwide.

Over the two decades, approximately one in every seven UK visa rejections went to a Nigerian applicant, even as Nigerians submitted just 6.8 per cent of all global applications.

Visitor visas dominated both the grants and the rejections. Of the 1,344,595 refused applications for Nigerians, 1,127,088, or 83.8 per cent, fell in the visitor category, which carried a 37.1 per cent refusal rate over the full period.

Study visa rejections totalled 130,712 at a 20.5 per cent rate, work visa rejections amounted to 41,410 at 16 per cent, and family refusals were 12,217.

In 2025, visitor visa refusals alone stood at 66,143, against 105,039 issued, at a 38.6 per cent rejection rate.

By the first quarter of 2026, 13,779 visitor visa applications had already been refused at 37.5 per cent.

The period with the sharpest refusal rate was the mid-2000s, where, in 2006, the UK turned down 117,968 Nigerian applications, a rate of 49.6 per cent.

Refusals had also reached 111,058 in 2005 at a 44.4 per cent rate.

The numbers improved over the ensuing decade, with the refusal rate falling to 26.2 per cent in 2011 and eventually reaching its recent low of 21 per cent in 2023, when a post-pandemic surge drove a record 281,658 visa grants to Nigerian applicants.

It was the highest single-year total in the dataset, preceded by 249,332 grants in 2022.

However, the high acceptance rate did not last. In April 2024, the UK raised the minimum salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas from £26,200 to £38,700, a 48 per cent increase, and restricted dependent visa rights for students and care workers, which cut application volumes.

Nigeria’s work visa applications fell by about 68 per cent in 2024 after the salary threshold review rendered many previously qualifying roles ineligible, according to analysis by immigration research firm Intelpoint.

In 2024, 77,706 Nigerians were refused at a rate of 33.5 per cent, and in 2025, 77,571 were refused at 33.1 per cent.

By the first quarter of 2026, 16,692 had been refused at 35.4 per cent, higher than either of the preceding two full years.

In Africa, Nigeria topped the list of nationalities with the most UK visa rejections.

Of the 3,027,198 total UK visa refusals for all African nationalities over the period, Nigeria’s 1,344,595 constituted 44.4 per cent.

Ghana ranked second among African countries with 374,108 refusals at a 40.5 per cent rate, followed by Algeria (191,903 refusals at 41.7 per cent rate), Egypt (134,055 at 16.2 per cent rate), Zimbabwe (102,246 at 26 per cent rate), Morocco (93,722 at 22.2 per cent rate), Kenya (75,973 at 18.8 per cent rate), Uganda (64,759 at 34.9 per cent rate), South Africa (61,521 at 3.6 per cent rate), and Sudan (59,069 at 31 per cent rate).

Across all nationalities, the UK processed 60,063,475 visa applications between 2005 and Q1 2026, issuing 50,873,344 and refusing 8,829,638.

African applicants submitted 11,433,508 of those visa requests, making up nine per cent of the global total, yet received 3,027,198 refusals, representing 34.3 per cent of all UK rejections worldwide.

African nations accounted for nearly double the share of applications, yet generated only about half the volume of refusals.

Nigeria alone submitted 35.7 per cent of all African applications and claimed 32.7 per cent of all UK visas issued to Africans.

The UK entry clearance visa system requires citizens of non-exempt countries, including Nigeria, to obtain formal permission before arrival.

Under the points-based immigration framework introduced in 2008 and expanded after Brexit, applicants must demonstrate financial solvency, genuine intent to visit, and sponsorship for work and study routes.

Visitor visa decisions, which remain the most contested category, depend on entry clearance officers’ assessment of financial evidence and the applicant’s ties to their home country.

These criteria, reports say, have historically led to higher refusal rates among applicants from economies classified as high-emigration risk.

In the year ending September 2025, Nigerians ranked among the top five nationalities submitting asylum claims after entering the UK on a valid visa.

The Home Office said this pattern has led it to tighten controls on its visa and asylum grants to Nigerians.

Speaking to our correspondent, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Singapore, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, said the inclination to leave the country largely stems from Nigeria’s struggling economy, with many citizens taking the Japa route.

He argued that the japa trend may only be reduced by significant economic improvement in the nation.

“The urge to travel out of the country is, in itself, primarily a function of the performance of our national economy. The economic doldrums have pushed compatriots into Japa mode.

“The trend may, unfortunately, increase until there’s a turnaround in the performance of the national economy,” the ex-diplomat noted.

He said while the number of visa rejections is worrisome, the sheer volume of approvals balances it out.

Amedu-Ode added, “Even then, the simultaneous increase in approvals and rejection is a function of the spike in the number of our compatriots applying to travel to that zone of the world.”