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Beyond Duplication: Building Stronger Institutions

By Fred Nwaozor Nigeria’s law-enforcement institutions remain central to the protection of lives, property, public resources and the rule of law. However, concerns about overlapping mandates, institutional weaknesses, inadequate coordination and the cost of maintaining numerous agencies performing closely related functions have continued to generate debate. Strengthening these institutions should therefore go beyond increasing personnel or procuring equipment. It should involve structural reforms that improve effectiveness, accountability and public confidence. One important area for reform is the rationalisation of agencies with substantially overlapping responsibilities. The existence of several institutions dealing with corruption, financial crimes, economic offences and related misconduct can create duplication, jurisdictional confusion and unnecessary administrative expenditure. A carefully designed merger of related agencies could pr...

UK introduces e-Visa for Work, Study Applicants

By Ben Akpan

The United Kingdom (UK) Government has announced the introduction of a digital Visa for study and work applicants, effective July 15, 2025.

The British Deputy High Commissioner, Gill Lever, made this known in a statement on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.

Lever said the move was part of the UK’s transition to a modern and digital immigration system.

She stated that the e-Visa would replace the traditional visa vignette or sticker in passports for successful applicants.

Lever noted that the change would make the process more secure, efficient, and convenient for students, professionals, and families.

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“We are making it easier and faster for Nigerians to travel to the UK. She confirmed.

“However, applicants applying as dependants or for other visa types, such as standard visitor visas, will still receive a visa sticker in their passport.”

She noted that applicants must still go to a visa application centre to provide their biometric information as part of the visa processing procedure.

According to Lever, once a decision is made on their visa application, applicants would receive an email from UK Visas and Immigration with the outcome and instructions to create a UKVI account to access their e-Visa.

She added that the e-Visa system had already replaced Biometric Residence Permits for individuals granted leave for over six months.

“Customers with a UKVI account can use the view and prove service to securely share their immigration status with third parties, such as employers or landlords.” Lever further expressed.

Fred Nwaozor, popularly known as TheMediaAmbassador, is a Nigerian tech expert, author, creative & content writer, media strategist, policy analyst, blogger, public speaker and rights activist. The renowned columnist regularly writes for the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), and is the Founder & Convener of Right Thinkers Movement (RITMO), Nigeria. He's a chartered industrial physicist, engineer and IT personnel. As a media guru, he enjoys an active presence in all media segments - including electronic, print & online - since two decades ago till date. As a full-time researcher and educator, he's a regular contributor and peer reviewer for various internationally-noted engineering journals. As Telecommunications and Automation engineer, his research interest mainly lies in System Modelling, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart city, Cybersecurity, Wireless networks, and Machine Learning (ML).