The European Union has warned that it could impose restrictive visa implementation rules on Nigeria, if it failed to co-operate in the readmission of its nationals deported from EU member countries. A restrictive visa regime would make obtaining visas to EU countries more difficult for Nigerian applicants. The EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Virginie Battu-Henriksson, said …

The mass murder in Hanau, a small town near Frankfurt, where on Wednesday a 43-year-old German man gunned down nine people at shisha bars, is the latest albeit most shocking incident in the increasing racist violence in the country. The murderer, identified as Tobias R, also shot his mother before killing himself. “On the suspected perpetrator’s home page, he had …

The Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to Germany, HE Gina Ama Blay, opened her country’s new honorary consulate for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in Dortmund on Tuesday, 18 February. The consulate is located in the building housing the headquarters of Auslandsgesellschaft – a German organisation that promotes international understanding. The president of Auslandsgesellschaft, Klaus Wegener, represents Ghana …

A one-day Workshop christened Diaspora Voting Initiative held in Abuja on Monday, 17 February. Organised by the UK-based Nigeria Diaspora Voting Council, the event was attended by Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser on Political Matters to the President who represented Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Rt. Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives: Hon. Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO …

The EU is rolling out a new naval operation in the Mediterranean to crack down on arms-smuggling into Libya, the latest effort to reduce the influx of weapons into the country and bring the civil war to an end. EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to launch a new military mission off the Libyan coast to enforce a UN arms …

Members of the Black community in Germany will hit the streets of Hamburg on Saturday, 29 February to protest against the controversial decision of a court that describing people of African descent as “neger” (subsequently referred to as the N-word in this report ) is not necessarily derogatory. “We, who are referred to by this word, say: ‘The N*word is …

“Why is the world silent over Anglophone Cameroon while men, women and children are killed in the most gruesome manner – shot, hacked, sometimes burnt alive in their homes just because they seek equality?” former President John Jerry Rawlings of Ghana wrote on his Facebook page and Twitter handle on Tuesday (18 February). “Why will Facebook, Twitter and other social …

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, have thrown their weight behind the enfranchisement of Nigerians living in the diaspora. At a sensitisation workshop on diaspora voting, held in Abuja on Monday, Prof Osinbajo, who delivered a keynote speech at the event, said: “The issue of diaspora voting is a significant one, considering …

The Embassy of Nigeria to Germany has called on applicants who had scheduled appointments for the issuance of passport to reconfirm their appointments with the mission. A statement, dated 13 February 2020, signed by the Head of Chancery, Mrs Foluke Atanda, said: “I am directed to inform that the Embassy of Nigeria, Berlin, is upgrading its appointment scheduling portal for …

Alarmed by a rapid spread of Lassa fever, the Nigerian Academy of Science is calling on government to declare a national health emergency. Dr Doyin Odubanjo, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Academy of Science, explains the background to the current outbreak of the disease and what needs to be done to contain it. ———- How serious is the current Lassa fever outbreak …