High Commission to meet leaders at university after currency crash in home country meant students couldn’t pay for tuition

Delegates from the Nigerian high commission in London are to meet bosses from Teesside University to discuss the treatment of a group of students who were ordered to leave the UK after failing to meet tuition repayments.

The Nigerian students were left distressed and in some cases suicidal after they were involuntarily withdrawn from their courses and ordered to leave, in what has been described as a “serious diplomatic issue”.

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© Photograph: Peter Jordan_NE/Alamy

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© Photograph: Peter Jordan_NE/Alamy

The viral disease kills 5,000 people a year in west Africa, and has been described as an epidemic threat to global health

Clinical trials for the first new treatment for Lassa fever in almost 40 years are planned to be held in Nigeria this year.

The neglected tropical disease kills about 5,000 people a year and is endemic in west Africa.

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© Photograph: mauritius images GmbH/Alamy

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© Photograph: mauritius images GmbH/Alamy

Nigeria has played a major role in fostering democracy in Africa’s west but after 25 years its people are losing faith

For visitors to Lagos, the gentle plea begins with immigration officials at the airport and is echoed across the streets of Africa’s most populous city: “Show me love.”

It is a familiar request for tips in a city of omnipresent hustle, but residents say the requests have intensified in the last year as people struggle under the crushing weight of Nigeria’s underperforming economy.

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© Photograph: Sunday Alamba/AP

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© Photograph: Sunday Alamba/AP

Post-colonial anthem dropped in 1978 reinstituted with little debate amid escalating economic crisis

Nigeria has reverted to a national anthem it dropped nearly 50 years ago after lawmakers replaced the current one, prompting widespread criticism over the lack of public consultation on the change.

The country’s president, Bola Tinubu, confirmed the law on Wednesday, a day after it was approved by both chambers of Nigeria’s national assembly, which is dominated by the governing party. The federal lawmakers introduced and passed the bill in less than a week – an unusually fast process for important bills that usually take weeks or months to be considered.

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© Photograph: Olamikan Gbemiga/AP

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© Photograph: Olamikan Gbemiga/AP

University informs Home Office and withdraws sponsorship from those struggling with fees after drop in value of naira

Nigerian students at a UK university say they are devastated after some were thrown off their course and ordered to leave the UK when they got behind on their fees because of a currency crash.

Teesside University withdrew students who missed their fee instalments and informed the Home Office, after some students’ savings were wiped out when the value of Nigeria’s naira crashed.

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© Photograph: TeesUni Communications/Teeside University

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© Photograph: TeesUni Communications/Teeside University

Anthony Olubunmi George, 61, has been refused leave to remain despite living most of his adult life in Britain

A disabled man who has lived in the UK for 38 years has been threatened with removal from the UK by the Home Office.

Anthony Olubunmi George, 61, came to the UK at the age of 24 in 1986 from Nigeria. He has not left the UK since and has no criminal convictions. In 2019, he had two strokes, which left him with problems with speech and mobility.

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© Photograph: Supplied

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© Photograph: Supplied

A compliance officer for the cryptocurrency exchange told senior executives and Nigerian contacts that the company had been asked to pay $150 million in crypto.

© Abraham Achirga/Reuters

Tigran Gambaryan, an American compliance official for the giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance, flew to Nigeria in February for a planned two-day business trip. He hasn’t returned.

© Abraham Achirga/Reuters