News

A growing number of African nationals are being drawn into Russia’s war against Ukraine. What investigators, journalists and governments have pieced together is a troubling picture of systematic deception. Young men targeted in countries where unemployment is high and poverty is prevalent are lured with the promise of well-paid civilian jobs and then coerced into military service on some of …

Signed on the margins of President Tinubu’s state visit to London, one landmark agreement on migration and two MoUs on organised crime and business visas carry real implications for Nigerians at home and in the diaspora During President Bola Tinubu’s two-day state visit to the United Kingdom (on 18 and 19 March 2026), both countries signed an agreement establishing a …

Victor Oladokun*, a renowned Nigerian media professional and strategic communications expert, has used the occasion of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s historic visit to the UK to make a clarion call to his countrymen and women to unite. Here’s why he believes that now more than ever, the citizens of Africa’s most populous nation should choose unity over division. Victor Oladokun/Photo: …

For the first time in 37 years, a Nigerian head of state has been received at Windsor Castle — and the visit has yielded concrete economic rewards, from a landmark ports financing deal to fresh commitments on trade, security and cultural exchange. When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu stepped out of a royal carriage at Windsor …

After nearly three years of operating without ambassadors in many diplomatic missions, the Nigerian government has finally begun redeploying envoys to its embassies around the world, including several key posts in Europe. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently approved the posting of 65 ambassadors and high commissioners to Nigerian missions worldwide, bringing an end to a prolonged period during which many …

The German Bundestag has passed a major overhaul of the country’s asylum laws. The new rules — enacted on Friday, 27 February 2026 — implement a European Union asylum reform while also introducing new national measures that go further. They aim to process asylum applications faster, reduce so-called “secondary movement” across EU borders and return people who are not eligible …

The number of asylum-seekers challenging rejected protection claims in Germany has risen sharply in recent years, putting growing pressure on the country’s administrative courts, according to media reports. Figures reported by the Deutsche Richterzeitung (German Judges’ Journal) show that the number of lawsuits filed by rejected asylum-seekers has doubled within two years. In 2023, Germany’s administrative courts received 71,885 appeals …

The UK has announced an immediate suspension of education visas for nationals of Cameroon, Sudan, Myanmar, and Afghanistan, countries that are battling serious internal security crisis. London argues that the measure is necessary after a sharp rise in asylum claims linked to student visa holders from the four countries. According to the Home Office, such applications rose by more than …

Germany is preparing to overhaul its asylum rules to give people seeking protection quicker access to the labour market, as part of broader migration reforms. The federal government announced plans in Berlin to enable asylum-seekers to start working and integrating into society sooner, even while their applications are being processed. Under the new proposal, asylum-seekers who have been in Germany …

African-American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson died on 17 February. The Baptist minister and two-time US presidential candidate was a towering moral voice whose powerful oratory helped shape the civil rights movement in the decades following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Widely regarded as one of the most respected global moral figures of the past 70 years, Rev …

The European Union and India formally signed a far-reaching Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at a high-level summit on 27 January 2026 in New Delhi, after almost two decades of intermittent negotiations. Once ratified by the European Parliament, EU member states and India’s institutions — a process expected to run through 2026, with entry into force likely in 2027 — the …

Brussels, 24 February 2026 — The European Union has adopted a controversial revision of its asylum and deportation rules that will allow member states, including Germany, to deport asylum applicants to countries outside the EU — even when they have no personal connection to those states. The decision, finalised by EU governments this week in Brussels, forms part of the …

The Berlin-based German-African Initiative for Development and Integration (GAIDI) gUG is intensifying its strategic engagement against irregular migration by partnering with civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria, one of the main countries of origin of irregular migrants to Europe. This commitment was underlined by Femi Awoniyi, Director of GAIDI, during his keynote address at the first 2026 meeting of the …

Civil society organisations in Lagos State have renewed calls for closer coordination and stronger partnerships to address irregular migration and promote dignified, legal mobility. Members of the Civil Society Network on Migration and Development (CSOnetMADE) made the appeal when they held their first coordination meeting of 2026 in Lagos recently. The meeting, held on 22 January at the Denny Social …

Spain has taken a bold step toward legalising the status of hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants, marking a sharp contrast to increasingly restrictive migration policies elsewhere in Europe. Announced in late January 2026, an extraordinary regularisation scheme aims to grant legal residence and work rights to migrants already living in the country without authorisation—among them many Africans who arrived …

From 1 February 2026, Germany will apply a new regulation that fundamentally changes how so-called “safe countries of origin” are designated in asylum procedures. The federal government says the move will speed up decisions, ease pressure on authorities and courts, and send a clear signal that asylum applications from certain countries have little chance of success. Critics, however, warn that …

As Cyprus assumes its six-month presidency of the European Union (1 January – 30 June 2026), the Mediterranean island is moving quickly to underline its priorities — with migration control and returns high on the agenda. These developments are being followed with concerns by refugee support groups. In recent weeks, Cypriot authorities have intensified the removal of people whose asylum …

The landmark Trans-African Tourism and Unity Campaign, led by Pan-African advocate and former Ghanaian lawmaker Ras Mubarak, concluded its multi-month continental tour on 22 January 2026 after traversing 31 African countries and covering more than 40,000 kilometres. The campaign, which began in Accra on 18 August 2025, was to promote visa-free travel across Africa by 2030, strengthen tourism, deepen cultural …

Over 60% of African countries now face costly bonds or travel restrictions, highlighting the growing global mobility gap compared with European citizens, for example. In recent months, the United States has introduced sweeping visa policy changes that disproportionately affect travellers from Africa, adding new obstacles to business trips, tourism and family reunification. Central to these changes is an expanded B‑1/B‑2 …

The newly released Henley Passport Index 2026 once again highlights the deep inequalities that shape global mobility, showing how nationality continues to determine who can move freely across borders and who cannot. The annual ranking, based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), assesses passports according to the number of destinations their holders can enter without obtaining a …