Foreign
Nigeria’s President Tinubu orders crackdown on ‘Japa’ civil servants
If you leave your job, it would seem logical that your salary would stop being paid, but not so for a number of former Nigerian civil servants.
They have managed to be employed elsewhere – sometimes in another country entirely – and yet continue to receive a wage from their former workplace.
News of this has reached the top and last week President Bola Tinubu ordered a crackdown.
“The culprits must be made to refund the money they have fraudulently collected,” he said.
Sabitu Adams, whose name we have changed to protect his identity, has not resigned from his position as a junior official at a government agency and still gets paid each month, despite leaving Nigeria two years ago.
He now works as a taxi driver in the UK, but told the BBC that he was not worried about losing the salary as he sees Mr Tinubu’s comments as an empty threat.
Mr Adams added that the loss of his monthly Nigerian salary of 150,000 naira ($100; £80) would not be a great hardship, as he earns a lot more driving a taxi.
“When I heard about the president’s directive, I smiled because I know I am doing better here – and not worried,” the 36-year-old said.
But why not make it clear to the civil service that he had left?
“To be honest I didn’t resign because I wanted to leave that door open in case I choose to go back to my job after a few years.”
Like Mr Adams, more than 3.6 million Nigerians have relocated to other countries over the last two years, according to official statistics.
Many young Nigerians see little prospect of earning a good living in the country – a feeling exacerbated by the collapse in the value of the naira over the past year following the reforms introduced by Mr Tinubu since he became president.
It has become so common for young people to seek their fortunes outside the country, the term “japa” has been coined to describe the phenomenon.
It is a word from the Yoruba language meaning to escape or flee.
Mr Tinubu said he was “struck by the revelations the head of the civil service shared regarding employees who had relocated abroad while drawing salaries without formally resigning”.
The president said that not only should the money be repaid but those who were complicit in allowing it to happened should be investigated too.
“Their supervisors and department heads must also be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud under their watch,” he said.
And this may have been the case for Mr Adams.
The UK-based taxi driver admitted that he continued to be paid thanks to those in his department: “I had a good understanding with my boss and he just let me leave.”
Often in such cases the salary is divided between the supervisor who keeps quiet and the person being paid, maybe along with an HR representative.
But for Mr Adams it was even easier. “In my case it wasn’t like that as my boss was a relative.”
So-called “ghost-working” is a major problem in Nigeria. Despite several crackdowns it is believed that thousands of non-existent workers are still being paid. There appear to be very few checks and balances in place.
But this is the first time it has been suggested that people who have moved abroad are continuing to be paid their salaries on a large scale.
Auwal Yakasai, who retired as a director in charge of finance at Kano state’s information ministry in 2021, said he had heard of such cases.
”To be honest I have never caught anyone red-handed,” Mr Yakasai, who worked for the government for 32 years, told the BBC.
“But I have heard numerous stories of such arrangements, where someone would still be receiving [a] salary after relocating or changing their place of work.”
Since he took office in May last year, Mr Tinubu has pledged to reduce the cost of governance and cut wastage.
In January, he directed that all official entourages to state and international events for himself and other government officials be slashed by 60%.
Nonetheless some have noted that there is much talk in Mr Tinubu’s administration without much action.
They cite plans to buy new planes worth millions of dollars for Mr Tinubu and his deputy Kashim Shettima as an example.
Another was when Mr Tinubu earlier this month launched a new official residence for Vice-President Shettima in the capital, Abuja, with a price tag of $13.6m (£11m).
And despite the president’s statement about the foreign ghost-workers, he did not say exactly what he was doing to crack down on them and take action against those responsible.
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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