FG intervenes as Nigerian students in UK varsity face deportation

The Federal Government has stepped in to address the recent deportation orders issued against some Nigerian students at Teesside University in the United Kingdom.

A delegation led by a representative of the Nigerian Embassy in the UK, Ambassador Christian Okeke, along with leaders of the Nigerian Students Union in the UK, will meet with the university’s management to seek a resolution.

This decision follows a virtual meeting chaired by the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and attended by Okeke, the President of the Nigerian Students Union UK, Yemi Soile, and several affected students.

The meeting was held on Sunday.

The NiDCOM spokesperson, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, confirmed the planned intervention in a statement on Wednesday.

According to Balogun, during the meeting, the students described their experiences and expressed hope for a favourable outcome.

Dabiri-Erewa urged the students “to remain calm and not to take the law into their own hands.”

She appealed to Teesside University to treat the students fairly and justly.

The issue gained attention after some Nigerian students at Teesside University staged a protest on May 22, 2024.

The protest was in response to directives from the university authorities for the students to leave the UK, citing non-payment of school fees by some students.