The United Kingdom’s Home Office has given notice of deportation to 50 Nigerian nurses who were accused of certificate fraud.
Though the nurses who got their papers from at a testing site in Ibadan, run by Pearson VUE on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have an appeal on their cases pending, the Home Office wants them to leave as soon as next week. According to Nursing Times report, the nurses have had their visas revoked
Their fate now hangs in the balance as the NMC accused of “deliberately delaying” hearings has been urged to immediately remedy the situation so that nurses are not repatriated before their appeal has been heard.
In February the affected nurses had written to the NMC to respond to their plight by liaising with the Home Office to ensure they are not deported but can stay in the UK until their appeals have concluded.
Investigations launched by the NMC in 2023 revealed that the nurses at testing centre at Ibadan were sitting their computer-based test (CBT) in record time. Over 2000 Nigerian nurses have been affected by the development.
