UK revokes visas of two Nigerians over cast proof in world expertise scheme

The United Kingdom (UK) has revoked the visas of two
Nigerian males who secured entry into the nation by the worldwide expertise visa
route utilizing cast proof.

 

Britain’s world expertise visa route is an immigration pathway
designed to draw extremely expert and promising professionals in fields such
as digital know-how, arts and tradition, academia, analysis, science,
engineering, drugs, humanities, and social sciences to stay and work within the
UK.

Applicants don’t want a pending job provide and have the
flexibility to work for employers, grow to be self-employed, or arrange their very own
companies inside their endorsed discipline.

A BBC investigation discovered two Nigerian males — Silva Ndifon
and Adanu Emmanuel Okoko — posed as positive artwork photographers to acquire expertise
visas. They are actually believed to be residing within the UK.

Their alleged deception first got here to gentle when Molara
Wood, an artwork critic, found articles reviewing their work within the Nigerian
Tribune that carried her byline, regardless of the actual fact she had not written them.

Artists making use of for the worldwide expertise visa are required to
present at the least two examples of latest press protection reviewing or profiling
their work.

Wood mentioned the critiques attributed to her had been of poor
high quality, as had been the artworks.

“It is writing that I would not want associated with me,”
Wood informed BBC. “The images were not worthy of comment.”

BBC famous that the Nigerian Tribune mentioned it had recognized a
“workers member who had posted the articles on our web site with out
authorisation”.

The newspaper eliminated the critiques following Wood’s
grievance. The workers member reportedly mentioned an outdoor had provided the article
however denied receiving fee.

“There is an actual downside whereupon faux articles are being
implanted onto newspaper web sites utilizing the bylines of respected tradition
journalists,” Wood added.

Wood first flagged the false artwork critiques on her X web page in
March.

“Who is Silva Ndifon? Crazy factor, final evening I found
that in March 2022, a “review” of Ndifon’s “art” was printed in
@nigeriantribune– with my byline!!! Never heard of Ndifon till final evening. I
didn’t write this. This is fraud, grand deception, a confidence trick,” she
posted.

A separate evaluation of Okoko’s work, additionally falsely attributed
to Wood, was printed in 2023.

She informed the BBC that different critics had additionally skilled
comparable incidents.

Ndifon’s work has obtained vital media protection in
different publications. However, it doesn’t function the form of fine-art
pictures described within the article that Wood didn’t write.

Okoko, then again, seems to have little to attach
him to pictures, or every other form of artwork.

The BBC mentioned it contacted the Home Office with findings of
the investigation, and the boys’s visas are actually understood to be within the course of
of being revoked.

NIGERIANS AMONG HIGHEST RECIPIENTS OF GLOBAL TALENT VISA
THROUGH ARTS

Many Nigerians have secured the UK’s world expertise visa
by creative routes, putting the nation among the many main sources of
recipients.

According to The Telegraph, Nigerians have made 729
functions throughout creative world expertise classes – dance, style, music,
movie and TV, theatre, mixed arts and visible arts — since 2019, second solely
to the US, with 977.

Only 59 p.c of them have been endorsed – the bottom charge
among the many nations listed other than Ghana.

However, in 2025, Nigerians topped the record of candidates
and endorsements beneath the worldwide expertise visa route for literature, forward of
nations such because the US, Canada, and Australia.

In complete, greater than 5,000 functions have been submitted
by folks of all nationalities since 2019, with 3,600 endorsements issued by
Arts Council England.

LARGER FRAUD NETWORK

The BBC investigation discovered firms providing to assist
migrants pose as proficient artists and know-how consultants to submit fraudulent
UK visa functions beneath a fast-track immigration scheme.

A guide with a London-based firm informed the BBC’s
undercover reporter – who posed as a possible shopper – that his agency might
provide paintings produced in China and prepare exhibitions, media protection and
letters of advice.

He mentioned not one of the purchasers who had taken the “totally
inclusive” bundle, which value greater than £100,000, had ever been refused a
visa.

For a further £28,000, the reporter might additionally safe a
Chinese artwork award sponsored by Forbes journal to strengthen her software.

As a part of the association, the guide mentioned his
colleagues might pose because the purported shopper at gallery openings and community
on her behalf, including that officers processing visa functions “don’t look
at pictures”.

He mentioned the method would take at the least two years. The totally
inclusive visa service value £98,000, with a further £1,120 postage charge to
ship as much as 15 works from Beijing to London.

iCareer, the corporate, denied providing visa companies,
claiming the guide had left its employment earlier than chatting with the
undercover reporter.

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