- Details
- Written by Alexi Aderonke
- Hits: 260
In a cramped apartment on the outskirts of Moscow, Lamin has little more than the clothes and the Bible he brought with him when he came to Russia on a temporary World Cup visa last summer.
The 23-year-old Gambian shares the two-bedroom flat with nine other people — the youngest a newborn baby girl, the daughter of a Congolese flatmate.
Like thousands of other Africans, Lamin came to Russia during the 2018 tournament on a “Fan ID” that allowed spectators to bypass the country’s usual visa requirements.
While most came purely to watch the football, others had plans to stay on and find work.
Some believed they could claim asylum in Russia or that the country would be a stepping-stone to life in Europe.
But eight months after the World Cup, their hopes have been dashed and the Russian interior ministry has said it is stepping up measures to deport all over-staying guests by the end of March.
Little hope of asylum
Lamin, an assumed name, said he needed to flee a family conflict in The Gambia because his life was in danger.
A church friend told him Russia would be easy to enter during the period it was hosting the football tournament.
Even so, it wasn’t easy when he arrived.
“I was confused, I had no place to stay, the situation was tough,” he said.
The former management student was eventually helped by a Liberian immigrant who shared food and offered a space in the apartment.
But during a raid in February, police found the Liberian had no valid documents and he was deported.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do next, I’m totally scared,” said Lamin, who has been given temporary leave to stay until the middle of March.
With the help of the Civic Assistance Committee, an organisation that works with refugees in Russia, he has put in an application for permanent asylum.
There is little hope, however, of it being granted. Official figures show that in 2017, Russia gave full refugee status to just 33 people.
Wave of arrivals
The “Fan IDs” were originally valid just for the period of the World Cup, but President Vladimir Putin later announced they could be used for re-entry until the end of 2018.
Last month, interior ministry official Andrei Krayushkin said 12,000 people had stayed on illegally after the end of the year.
But efforts by the security services had so far reduced that number to 5,500, he told a press conference.
Daniel, who has worked with African migrants in Moscow for 10 years but did not want to give his last name nor where he works for fear of repercussions, said the World Cup had brought the biggest wave of arrivals he had ever seen.
“When they get here, they’re stuck. They don’t want to go back, they can’t go forward,” he told AFP.
“Most don’t speak Russian, and without Russian, the chances are very small of finding a job.”
One such immigrant is Solomon, who came during the World Cup to watch Nigeria play — his home side. He already had plans to stay on after the tournament.
At first, the 31-year-old found work as a gardener but is now unemployed.
“In Nigeria, there is no job, no good politics, no good life,” the engineering graduate said.
“I just want to stay here for a little time, so that I am able to work, get some money and go to another place.”
He is “very worried” about the interior ministry’s March deadline, but says he has no plans to leave of his own accord.
Trafficking victims
A few in extreme circumstances have been granted leave to stay beyond March.
Victoria came from Nigeria on a World Cup ticket with plans to study in Russia, but on arrival, the 22-year-old discovered she had been trafficked into prostitution.
A woman came to meet her at the airport, took her back to a flat and told her to take off her clothes.
“She took my passport and my Fan ID,” Victoria said.
After being forced to work as a street prostitute, Victoria got in touch with the anti-trafficking NGO Alternativa and managed to escape.
The organisation has helped her obtain permission to remain until the summer and she has found some work in a shoe repair shop.
“I want to stay in Russia,” she told AFP at the NGO’s central Moscow office.
“Not to stay permanently — I just want to have some money, so that at least when I go back to Nigeria I can start a business.”
But others who were trafficked, like 20-year-old Progress, remain in a state of limbo.
Alternativa is preparing an application for an extension so that “maybe I can stay in Russia,” said the young Nigerian woman, who was also forced into prostitution.
“A lot of the girls who came with me are still working. They are too scared to leave.”
Source:- Guardianng
- Details
- Written by Alexi Aderonke
- Hits: 248
President Buhari today reassured Nigerians that he would not let them down in his second term in office. He said this when he received the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), who paid him a congratulatory visit at the state house in Abuja.
According to him, he would work harder in the next four years to address the challenges facing the country.
“This is my last lap, I will try to work harder. I assure you, I will not let you down.” he stated
Chairman of the ACF’s board of trustees, Alhaji Adamu Fika who led the delegation, said the visit was to congratulate the president on his victory at the polls.
- Details
- Written by Laolwu Agboola
- Hits: 247
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it will not rescind its decision on the use of biometrics in the conduct of its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
This was contained in the Board’s weekly bulletin issued in Lagos, yesterday.
According to the bulletin, the importance of biometrics in the conduct of the board’s examination cannot be over-emphasised.
It noted that the Biometrics Verification Machine (BVM) was introduced by the board in an attempt to get rid of the numerous forms of examination malpractice.
It said the BVM was a security mechanism used for the authentication of candidates’ identity as it provided access to the individual data, based on physiological characteristics.
“The core value of a biometric verification process lies in its ability to provide extra layers of security and protection against counterfeiting and impersonation.
“The increasing threat of identity fraud during the board’s UTME before the advent of the BVM necessitated its introduction for capturing biometrics of candidates to counter fraud.
“The candidate’s 10 fingers are captured during registration and are used as clearance to admit them into the examination hall.
“There are various types of biometric solutions but JAMB opted for finger print recognition, to eliminate all forms of infractions.
“Biometric security is surely a breakthrough for the board, because the finger prints recognition technology provides a greater degree of security as it is impossible to steal, forget, loose or compromise data already captured.
“Therefore, the adoption of biometrics in the conduct of our examination is here to stay,” JAMB noted.
The examination body reassured candidates that their fingerprints would not be used for any purpose other than identification.
According to the bulletin, the benefits of the BVM are immense and indispensible to the assessment process.
The board had, prior to commencement of the sale of its 2019 registration documents on February 10, warned that it would not re-schedule any examination for candidates with biometric issues and added that candidates with issues of biometrics must visit the board’s headquarters in Abuja to be captured.
JAMB also noted that out of 52 candidates with such challenges nationwide, only 22 showed up at the board’s headquarters for the process.
- Details
- Written by Alexi Aderonke
- Hits: 255
Barely few days to the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections in the country, a High Court in Calabar on Tuesday insisted that the removal of the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidates for the election in Cross River is a settled matter.
The High Court presided over by Justice Eyo Ita in a suit brought before it by an aggrieved APC governorship aspirant, Mr. Ukpan Odey, said since the reliefs sought by the plaintiff were the same as that which a Federal High Court had already ruled on, it could not rule on them again.
The Federal High Court In Abuja had on February 11th, 2019, in suit FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delist all the names of candidates of APC from the 2019 elections.
Affirming that the ruling stands, Justice Ita directed “that All Progressives Congress, APC, the 1st Respondent herein, is obliged to apply and obey its constitution and guideline and their prayer N0 2 was decided in suit FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 on 11/2/2019 and is res judicatory.
On plaintiff’s prayer No. 3, the court held that “Prayer N0.3 was decided in Suit N0: FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 and following that decision INEC, 2ND defendant herein, has removed the names of all candidates forwarded to INEC by APC as a product of the primaries from its ballot papers.
Prayers N0.4 &5, in this case, were granted in suit No: FHC/CA/CS/73/2018. INEC has removed those names from its ballot papers.
“The name of the 3rd defendant has already been voided and being one of those names sent to INEC by the first Defendant, APC, removed from INEC ballot papers for the Governorship Elections in Cross River state coming up on the 9/3/2109 in line with consequential order 5 in the Federal High court case.
“I am of the settled view that the main causes of action in claims 2-6 in this matter, which are the APC primary elections for her candidates in Cross River state, and the sending of names of APC candidates based thereon to INEC, were resolved by the Federal High Court in the case referred to above on the 11/2/2019.
“The cause of action in those claims are therefore res judicata. Claims 2-6 in this action are in consequence dismissed as there is nothing left to decide in them.”
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the judgment, A .U Bukar, Counsel to Claimant, John Ukpan Odey an aspirant under APC, said he was happy with the decision of the court following the fact that a Federal High sitting in Abuja had already given an order on the matter.
“What was displayed earlier by the APC was political rascality and we are happy that the High Court sitting in Cross River state where my client instituted the matter has affirmed the order of the Federal High Court of 11/2/2019 with Suit No FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 which has already been obeyed by INEC which on the 22nd of February delisted all candidates of APC including the governorship candidate, “he submitted.
Source:- Dailypostng
- Details
- Written by Laolwu Agboola
- Hits: 521
A Senator-Elect of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Godiya Akwishika received the beating of his life recently after he was reportedly caught in bed with another man’s wife.
Akwishika, who is also the deputy speaker of the Nasssarawa State house of Assembly, was stripped n*ked and given several blows.
According to a Nigerian journalist, Jackson Ude, the said man is currently in police custody in maitama police station, Abuja.
A politician, Mr Danladi Envuluanza, who hails from the same senatorial district with Akwashiki, was a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa but lost to Abdullahi Sule in the primary election.
Envuluanza allegedly mobilised youths and thugs who met Akwashiki in one of the hotels in the outskirts of Abuja where he was publicly beaten and stripped Unclad for toasting and attempting to sleep with his wife.
Though Envuluanza’s wife was not seen around the hotel, the politician who openly supervised Akwashiki’s beating in the hotel asked the thugs to kill him if they could.
Page 9 of 222
