Headline

28,000 Nigerians Get Canadian PR In Seven Years – Report

Published

3 years ago

January 28, 2023

At least 28,358 Nigerians received invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residency from 2015 to 2021.

This is according to The PUNCH analysis of Express Entry annual reports issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for the years under review.

The year-end reports overview all EE process stages from profile submissions, invitations to apply, applications and admissions.

According to the report, Nigeria rose from seventh to the second most common country of citizenship of applicants who received an ITA from the Canadian authority in the four years spanning 2015 to 2019.

Within that period, the number of Nigerians who received ITAs rose by a whopping 889 per cent.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Canadian PR invitations to Nigerians rose by 10 per cent—from 5,882 to 6,550.

However, that number dropped by 52 per cent in the preceding year.

The breakdown showed that 609, 1041, 5129 and 6,024 ITAs were issued in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively.

While 5882, 6550 and 3123 invitations were issued in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.

In 2020, the West African state ranked 3rd globally, behind India and China.

In 2021, however, more South Koreans received ITAs than Nigerians, albeit by a small margin of seven.

From 2015 to 2021, the IRCC received at least 2,209,630 profile submissions. 59 per cent (1,303,490) of those profiles were termed “eligible” for at least one of the federal immigration programs. In contrast, 51 per cent (906,140) were ineligible.

In 2022, IRCC processed about 5.2 million permanent, temporary, and citizenship applications.

This doubled the number of applications processed in 2021.

On January 3, 2023, the Canadian government revealed that it welcomed 431,645 new permanent residents in 2022, the highest since 1913.

It plans to grant permanent residency status to 447,055 and 451,000 immigrants in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Although the Canadian government says immigrants enrich its communities and contribute to its economy through labour, job creation and local businesses, the tale is different for source regions such as Nigeria.

A development economist, Aliyu Ilias, told Saturday PUNCH that the exit of more Nigerians and their permanent settlement in Canada meant less skilled labour for the country.

“It’s definitely a cause of concern because our professionals are moving because it takes a whole lot to train these professionals. In the medical sector, Nigeria subsidises a lot to get people trained.

“You cannot get trained as a medical doctor or an engineer abroad for a cheaper cost compared to what we get in Nigeria. So, it is a total brain drain in the long run and for the economy, it is reducing our GDP.

“The appalling part is that most of our Nigerian brothers and sisters who go out do not return. They get permanent residency, and they become valuable to the immediate country,” he said.
PUNCH

Headline

Court Jails Two For Targeting President With Sorcery

Published

21 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

A Zambian court on Monday sentenced two men to two years in prison with hard labour on charges of attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country’s president.

Mozambican national Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Zambian village chief Leonard Phiri were arrested in December in possession of charms, including a live chameleon.

Police said they planned to use the charms to harm President Hakainde Hichilema, and they were charged with professing knowledge of witchcraft and possession of charms.

“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” magistrate Fine Mayambu ruled in the capital Lusaka on Monday.

“The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians. I therefore sentence them to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour from the date of their arrest,” he said.

The prosecution said the men had been hired by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is facing trial for robbery, attempted murder and escaping custody.

Headline

Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial

Published

22 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

Criminal Court ‘D’ in Monrovia is set to deliver judgment this week in Liberia’s first piracy trial, involving two Nigerian nationals accused of hijacking a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to court records, the defendants were arrested earlier this year after a Liberia-flagged ship was seized by armed men while transporting goods through international waters. The crew sent a distress signal, prompting international maritime forces to intervene.

The suspects were subsequently transferred to Liberian authorities under global maritime cooperation protocols.

According to Liberia’s news platform, Front Page Africa, the case has attracted attention because Liberia maintains one of the world’s largest open ship registries, yet prosecutions for piracy within its domestic courts have not previously occurred. Under international law, Liberia holds jurisdiction over crimes involving ships registered under its flag.

On Monday, proceedings took a new turn when defense lawyer, Cllr. Bestman Juah, informed the court that the defendants had admitted responsibility for the hijacking and were requesting a plea-bargain arrangement. State prosecutors did not oppose the request, leaving open the possibility of reduced sentences in exchange for full cooperation.

Resident Judge Mameita Jabateh-Sirleaf, who presides over Criminal Court ‘D’, will rule on whether to accept the plea deal and determine the sentencing framework. The ruling could also address deportation measures following imprisonment.

Criminal Court ‘D’ handles cases involving armed robbery, terrorism, hijacking, and other serious crimes, and the piracy trial represents a growing trend of transnational offenses being prosecuted within Liberia’s judicial system.
As of press time, the court has not announced the date for sentencing.

Headline

Spain Cancels $825m Israel Arms Deal Over Gaza

Published

22 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

The Spanish government has cancelled a contract worth nearly 700 million euros ($825 million) for Israeli-designed rocket launchers.

The move comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last week that his government would “consolidate in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel over its offensive in Gaza.

The contract, awarded to a consortium of Spanish companies, involved the purchase of 12 SILAM rocket launcher systems derived from the PULS platform made by Israeli firm Elbit Systems, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance.

First reported by local media and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the cancellation was formalised on Spain’s official public contracts platform on September 9.

The following day, Sanchez unveiled measures aimed at stopping what his leftist government called “the genocide in Gaza”.

It includes the approval of a decree imposing a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel due to its military offensive in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attacks in October 2023.

Spain applied the ban as Israel stepped up its military onslaught.

Spain has also formalized the cancellation of another contract for 168 anti-tank missile launchers, which were to be manufactured under license from an Israeli company.

That contract, valued at 287 million euros, had been first reported by the press in June.

According to Spanish daily La Vanguardia, the government is undertaking a broader review to phase out Israeli weapons and technology from its armed forces.

Sanchez has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza policy.

Relations between the two countries have been tense for months.

Israel has not had an ambassador in Spain since Madrid recognized the state of Palestine in 2024.

Last week, Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel after heated exchanges over Sánchez’s new measures.

The Barcelona-based Delas Centre, a security research institute, estimated in April that since the start of the Gaza war, Spain had awarded 46 contracts worth $1.044 billion to Israeli companies, based on public tender data.