Several Nigerian nurses in the United Kingdom are facing deportation following an ongoing investigation into alleged exam malpractice linked to a test center in Ibadan, Nigeria.
The UK Home Office has revoked their visas, instructing them to leave the country despite pending appeals.
The probe, initiated by the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), focuses on suspected fraud at Yunnik Technologies Test Centre, says The Hope Newspaper.
In 2023, the NMC detected irregularities in the computer-based test (CBT) results, a mandatory exam for foreign-trained nurses seeking UK registration.
The council subsequently declared all results from the center invalid.
According to NMC findings, 48 registered nurses and 669 applicants may have obtained fraudulent results.
As a result, independent panels were set up to review each case.
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However, in February 2025, about 50 affected nurses filed a pre-action protocol letter against the NMC, accusing it of delaying hearings and urging collaboration with the Home Office to allow them to stay in the UK while their cases were reviewed.
Despite these legal efforts, the Home Office has issued removal orders, requiring the nurses to leave the UK starting next week.
The decision raises concerns about the future of Nigerian healthcare workers seeking career opportunities abroad and the potential impact on the UK’s already strained healthcare system.