News

Resident foreigners convicted by German courts are increasingly being expelled from the country irrespective of their residency status. This was revealed in the response of the federal government to a parliamentary enquiry of the Linke party in the Bundestag, the news agency epd has reported. According to the report, 7,408 deportation orders were issued last year. In 2017, there were …

Nigeria has again faulted claims that there were 30,000 of its citizens who are irregular migrants in Germany awaiting repatriation. The Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, said the figure was unrealistic against the background that there’re only 32,000 Nigerians legally resident in the country. “So how could there be 30,000 Nigerians irregularly living in the country?” he …

The so-called ‘Orderly Return Law’ (das Geordnete-Rückkehr-Gesetz) was approved in June. It went into force on Wednesday (21 August). It gives authorities and police more powers to enforce deportation orders. Critics fear more refugees could now be legally detained. The tightening of rules governing the deportation of rejected asylum-seekers took effect on Wednesday. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) said …

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has kicked off the registration of Nigerians resident in Germany. The exercise, being carried out in collaboration with private data management companies, enrols Nigerians, including those living in the diaspora, in the country’s National Identity Database. A registered person is issued a National Identification Number (NIN), a unique set of eleven-digit number. Kicking off …

Nearly one quarter of Germany’s population of 82 million has an immigrant background, according to statistics released Wednesday (21 August). Germany’s statistical agency Destatis said 20.8 million people in 2018 had a so-called “migrant background,” defined as a person who is a migrant or has at least one parent not born as a German citizen. That’s an increase of half …

While the assault on Senator Ike Ekweremadu has been strongly condemned by all Nigerian diaspora organisations, some commentators have called for a broader look at the import of the unfortunate incident for the culture of governance in their home country. Dr Ike Ekweremadu, a member of the Nigerian Senate – the upper chamber of the country’s bicameral national legislature, was …

President Muhammadu Buhari swore in the members of his cabinet for his second term in office today and assigned portfolios to the new ministers. The full list is below: Dr. Ikechukwu Ogah (Abia State) – Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development Mohammed Musa Bello (Adamawa State) – Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom State) – …

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a change of name for the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi in Benue State. The new name for the institution is Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi. The approval follows the president’s decision to sign a bill amending the law that set up the university. Mr Buhari also approved a separate bill that changes the name …

PRESS STATEMENT NIDOG condemns assault on Senator Ekweremadu in Nuremberg The Executive Committee of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Germany (NIDO Germany) held an emergency meeting on Sunday, 18 August to discuss the assault on the person of Senator Ike Ekweremadu at the Second Annual Igbo Cultural Day on Saturday, 17 August in the German city of Nuremberg. The meeting …

The Nigerian Embassy in Germany has called on German authorities to unmask the identity of and try the Aug. 17 attackers of Sen. Ike Eweremadu in Nuremberg, Germany. In a statement on Monday in Berlin, the embassy also demanded that the attackers be tried in accordance with German laws.   The embassy stated that investigations would help identify the attackers …

Below is a Press Statement released by Ndi Igbo Germany e.V. on the assault on the person of Senator Ike Ekweremadu at the Second Annual Igbo Cultural Day on Saturday, 17 August in the German city of Nuremberg. The event was organised by Ndi Igbo Germany. ………………………………………. PRESS STATEMENT NDI IGBO GERMANY APOLOGISES TO SENATOR IKE EKWEREMADU AND CALLS FOR WORLD …

The physical assault on the person of Senator Ike Ekweremadu at the Second Annual Igbo Cultural Day on 17 August in the German city of Nuremberg has been attracting different reactions from Nigerians in the diaspora. The attack is suspected to have been carried out by members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an organisation agitating for a separate independent …

No fewer than 20 Nigerian migrants have been deported by the German authority, The African Courier can confirm. The migrants arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 4:30pm on Monday (19 August). The African Courier gathered that the returnees were picked randomly at different times and detained in a deportation prison prior to their repatriation. READ MORE New law for …

Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, HE Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, hosted a delegation* of the Edo Community of Nigeria, Germany e.V. (Edo`s in Germany) on Friday, 16 August in Berlin. Alhaji Tuggar held a meeting with the delegation, including members of the national executive council of Edo Community Germany, in the company of Ambassador (Mrs) Shakirat Ogundero, the Deputy Head of Mission, …

After five exciting weekends of quality football and the accompanying tension and fun, Sierra Leone beat Cameroon 5:4 to become winners of the 13th African Football Cup in Bremen on Sunday (11 August). It was however not easy for the Sierra Leoneans as they achieved their hard-won victory after a penalty shoot-out. Senegal had it easier at the third-place match …

During the first half of 2019, German authorities registered 8,605 far-right hate crimes. That was 900 more than in the first half of 2018. In the first half of 2019, the authorities registered 8,605 extreme right-wing crimes in Germany. These included 363 acts of violence. A total of 179 people were injured, according the Federal Government in response to a …

A majority of Britons agree that Prime Minister Boris Johnson should take their country out of the European Union “by any means”, even if that involves suspending parliament, an opinion poll conducted for the Daily Telegraph has revealed. Some 54 percent of those polled agreed with the statement “Boris [Johnson] needs to deliver Brexit by any means, including suspending parliament …

About 100 protesters gathered in Gotha, state of Thuringia, on Saturday to protest against deportations to Nigeria and what they described as “the intimidation of the authorities and police”. Participants from Berlin, Erfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Göttingen, Jena and Wuppertal converged on the eastern German town in response to the call of refugees stationed in Gotha. Organised by pro-refugee groups, …

Every day, young Africans out of sheer desperation endanger their lives in their quest to cross the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea for a better life in Europe. More than 20,000 have drowned in the past seven years while many more are even believed by experts to have perished in the desert. The main factor pushing young people to leave …

Friends and well-wishers are lauding the life and work of Dr Daniel Yakubu Kutchin following his death. The Nigerian was found dead on 7 August 2019 in his apartment in Monchengladbach, Germany. He was 57. Doctors, in their interim report, say he must have died of natural causes. While a detailed autopsy report is being awaited, friends and colleagues of …