A Nigerian man, Abiola Quadri, has been sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison in the United States for orchestrating a $1.3 million fraud scheme involving stolen identities to claim COVID-19 pandemic unemployment and disability benefits. The 43-year-old, a permanent resident of Pasadena, California, used the illicit funds to construct a nightclub, shopping mall,…
The United States (US) government has urged its citizens to reconsider traveling to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, armed gangs, and inconsistent availability of health care services. The United States government issued the warning on July 15, 2025 in a fresh travel advisory to its citizens published on the website of the…
US President, Donald Trump, has been diagnosed with a long-term but benign vein condition, the White House said on Thursday following speculation about his heavily bruised hand and swollen legs. The 79-year-old was found to have “chronic venous insufficiency” after he “noted mild swelling in his lower legs” in recent weeks, White House Press Secretary…
The federal government says it is engaging relevant authorities in the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to resolve recent visa policy changes affecting Nigerian citizens. On July 8, the US recently implemented a new visa policy for Nigerians limiting the validity of most non-immigrant, non-diplomatic visas, such as tourist, business, and student…
A Nigerian socialite, Abiola Femi Quadri, has been sentenced to 11 years and 3 months (135 months) in a United States federal prison for masterminding a $1.3 million COVID-19 unemployment and disability fraud scheme. Quadri, 43, who resided in Pasadena, California, used stolen identities to file over 100 fraudulent claims with the California and Nevada…
The US Mission in Nigeria said on Friday that the reason it reduced visa validity for Nigerians was not because of a recent action by the Nigerian government. GISTSMATE MEDIA reported that the US embassy on Tuesday announced that it had reduced visa validity for non-immigrant Nigerian applicants from five years to three months. Although…
Nigeria won’t cave in to pressure from the Donald Trump administration to accept Venezuelan deportees from the United States, the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar has said. Tuggar, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, said Nigeria has enough challenges of its own and won’t be a dumping ground…
The Federal Government, in response to the United States’ new visa restrictions on Nigerian citizens, has called on Washington to reconsider the policy. The US government had earlier announced changes to its visa reciprocity schedule for Nigeria, limiting the validity of certain non-immigrant visas—such as the B1/B2 (business and tourism), F (student), and J (exchange…
US President Donald Trump will welcome five African leaders to a White House lunch on Wednesday, with commerce and trade expected to feature prominently amongst a mixed bag of potential agenda items. The presidents of Senegal, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon — five nations located along Africa’s Atlantic Coast — will convene at Trump’s behest….
Nigeria’s trade with BRICS countries jumped to N5.41tn in the first quarter of 2025, more than three times higher than the N1.54tn recorded from exports to the United States. This was according to an analysis of data from the National Bureau of Statistics’ foreign trade statistics report. The significant rise shows a major shift in…