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Asylum surge: UK stops study visas for four countries

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The UK government has imposed an “emergency brake” on study visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan following a sharp rise in asylum claims from individuals who initially entered the country through legal routes.

According to the UK Home Office, the unprecedented move will end sponsored study visas for all four countries and suspend skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals.

The changes will be introduced through an Immigration Rules amendment on 5 March and come into force on 26 March.

The Home Office on Wednesday said the decision followed a surge in asylum claims from people who had entered legally on visas before subsequently applying for asylum.

“An ’emergency brake’ on visas ‌has been ‌imposed for the first time on nationals from four countries following a ⁠surge in asylum claims from legal routes,” DW News reported that ‌the UK Home Office ⁠said.

Nearly 135,000 asylum claims from legal routes

In total, 133,760 people have claimed asylum after arriving legally in the past five years.

Since 2021, almost 135,000 individuals entered the UK on student or other visas before lodging asylum claims.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged that asylum claims via legal entry routes now make up nearly 40 per cent of all claims.

“In 2025, they accounted for 39 per cent of the 100,000 people who applied for asylum.

“Asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan increased by more than 470 per cent between 2021 and 2025, making them among the most likely nationalities to claim.

“Applications by students from Myanmar rose sixteen-fold during that period, while claims from Cameroon and Sudan increased by more than 330 percent.

“Between 2021 and the year ending September 2025, the proportion of Afghan asylum claims relative to study visas issued reached 95 per cent,” Essex News’ UK News and Investigation also reported on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the number of Afghans on work visas claiming asylum is now outstripping the number of visas issued.

Although the government said it reduced student asylum claims by 20 per cent during 2025, those arriving on study visas still account for 13 percent of all claims currently in the system.

Financial pressures, accommodation costs

Many asylum seekers entering through legal routes are being housed at taxpayer expense.

The Home Secretary noted that an above-average proportion of individuals from the four countries are claiming destitution.

She was quoted as saying, “Asylum support currently costs more than £4 billion annually.

“Nearly 16,000 nationals from the four affected countries are supported at public expense, including over 6,000 accommodated in hotels.

“The government says it has reduced the asylum support bill by £1 billion since coming to office.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is clamping down on visa abuse like this so we can maintain our ability and proud tradition of helping those genuinely in need.”

Legislative changes, asylum rule tightening

The announcement coincides with broader asylum reforms that took effect this week.

Under the new rules, refugee status for adults and their accompanying children will be reviewed every 30 months.

Previously, refugee status was granted for five years, after which individuals could apply for indefinite leave to remain and pursue citizenship.

Refugees whose countries are deemed safe will be expected to return home.

Unaccompanied children will continue to receive five years’ leave while a long-term policy is developed.

Those already in the UK will continue to be assessed under the previous framework.

The government confirmed that protection for refugees will be reduced to 30 months from 2 March in an effort to reduce pull factors driving dangerous small boat crossings.

Essex News says the reforms are modeled on Denmark’s system, widely regarded as one of the toughest in Europe.

The Home Secretary is set to introduce new legislation this week and will deliver a speech at the IPPR think tank outlining how the reforms align with British values.

She said: “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused.

“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity.

“I will restore order and control to our borders.”

Diplomatic pressure, safe routes

The measures follow the Prime Minister’s decision to adopt what was described as a more hard-edged diplomatic approach to ensure migration rules are respected.

In November, the Home Secretary warned that visas for Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo could be suspended unless those governments agreed to accept the return of illegal migrants.

Four months later, cooperation was secured and return flights commenced.

The government has pledged to expand capped safe and legal routes as an alternative to small boat crossings once order is restored to the asylum system.

Since 2021, Britain has offered sanctuary to more than 37,000 Afghans through two resettlement schemes, while 190,000 visas were granted on humanitarian routes in 2025 alone.

Between 2010 and 2025, the UK resettled the sixth largest number of refugees referred by the UNHCR globally.

Migration remains a central political issue in the UK, with the anti-migration Reform UK party gaining ground in opinion polls.

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I would rather die, than betray my predecessor – Gov Buni declares

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Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, has made a powerful declaration, saying he would rather die than to betray his political godfather and current Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam.

Buni made the declaration on Tuesday while addressing delegates shortly after the conclusion of All Progressives Congress, (APC), congress held in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.

“I would rather die than betray our mentor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam. I remain deeply grateful to him for the role he played in my political journey.

“I will never forget where I am coming from, and I will never turn my back on the man who trusted and supported me,” he said.

He told the gathering that noted political career are built on trust, noting that he is a product of trust.

“I always want to be remembered as someone who never betrays anybody,” he declared.

The governor charged the newly elected party officials in the state to remain steadfast, urging them to uphold trust and integrity in the discharge of their responsibilities.

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Iran: ‘Nigeria in trouble too’ – Hakeem Baba-Ahmed

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Amid the ongoing tension in Iran, former Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Political Matters, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said that Nigeria too is in trouble.

Baba-Ahmed stated this on Tuesday during an interview on Trust TV monitored by Ekwutosblog.

He was speaking about the attack on Iran by the United States and its ally, Israel.

Ekwutosblog had reported that the US and Israeli launched air strikes on Iran on Saturday resulting in the death of its Supreme Leader and other top political office holders.

Airing his own opinion, Baba-Ahmed said, “Nigeria too is in trouble. We are not safe with what is going on in Iran.

 

“The world is by now aware of the fact that two days ago, the United States of America and Israel attacked the State of Iran, killed its leader and a number of very senior political and military officers, as well as a number of other citizens.

“Clearly, the United States had decided to affect regime change, meaning removal of the entire leadership of Iran and maybe installing a different one, or giving a chance to the citizens of Iran to choose who will next govern them.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work as neatly as leaders like President Donald Trump think. What we are likely to have is what we are beginning to see now, a lot of chaos, prolonged crisis, both within Iran and around it, and a lot of uproar around the world.”

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Rivers LG chairman under scrutiny over alleged physical assault on female aide

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The Chairman of Ahoada West Local Government Area, Hon. Eugene Ekpelle, is facing allegations of assault made by his former media aide, Minnie Ogadinma.

Ogadinma alleged that the council chairman ordered his brother, Monday Cheta, to attack her for allegedly attempting to tarnish his image.

Ekwutosblog reports that trouble started after Ogadinma made a social media post-highlighting the deteriorating condition of Community Secondary School, Odioku.

She alleged that the chairman visited her residence on Sunday evening after her video.

According to her, the chairman accused her of trying to damage his reputation and subsequently directed his brother, Monday Cheta to “teach her a lesson.”

She further alleged that Cheta assaulted her and attempted to use a shovel during the altercation, claiming the situation was only brought under control by neighbours who intervened.

Ogadinma said both she and her mother sustained injuries during the incident and disclosed that she was relieved of her duties as a media aide the same Sunday.

Detailing her account, she stated, “On Thursday, I visited my community secondary school in Odioku.

“When I got there, I saw how bad the school was. They don’t have chairs, no roof over their head. So I made a video calling for help.

“I tagged VeryDarkMan in my post, asking him to come renovate the school for us.

“Yesterday, I was in my house with my mother. Then the chairman came, himself, his younger brother, Monday Cheta, and the security man with the driver.

“They came down from the vehicle. And then when my mummy tried to greet the chairman, the next thing he said was that your daughter wants to damage his image online.

“Then he asked his junior brother, Monday Cheta, that he should teach me a lesson. That was his word. Go and teach this small girl a lesson.

“I was inside my compound. Monday pushed down my gate, pushed my mother. My mummy even had injury on her lips because she had an accident before now that they stitched.

“So, when he pushed my mummy, my mummy started bleeding from her mouth.

“So I ran into my compound. Then Monday entered my compound, started beating me. And then the chairman told him that he should kill me.

“My mom raised an alarm, and my neighbors came around. They had to come and rush him. He used a shovel that he wanted to hit me with.

“Then they rushed him, and they had to separate him from where I was.

“The next thing I heard from the chairman was that even if I should die, that nothing would happen to him, that nobody would do anything to him.”

However, the chairman denied the allegations.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Dennis Ezeuwa Lot, the council described the claim as “false, malicious, and deliberately distorted,” insisting that the Chairman neither assaulted nor directed anyone to assault Ogadinma.

The statement maintained that the Chairman had visited the residence for a peaceful engagement and alleged that Ogadinma confronted him with insults.

It added that she later fell and sustained minor injuries while being restrained by a passerby during a heated exchange.

“At no point did the Chairman engage in any physical confrontation,” the statement said, challenging those promoting the allegation to provide verifiable evidence.

The council further clarified that issues relating to Community Secondary School, Odiokwu fall under the jurisdiction of the Rivers State Government, not the local government, and urged the public to disregard what it termed attempts to create political tension.

Reacting to the development, a Port Harcourt-based human rights lawyer, Chetam Nwala condemned the alleged actions, describing it as “a serious disappointment from a public leader,” and called on security agencies to ensure justice is served.

Also speaking at a media briefing in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the Director of Pilex Centre for Civic Education, Courage Nsirimovu, said Ogadinma “acted within her constitutional rights as a Nigerian citizen to monitor public projects in her community.”

Similarly, the Director of Relief International Africa, Green Isaac called for the “immediate arrest and prosecution of the council chairman, a public apology and compensation for medical expenses and displacement.”

 

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