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US exempts Nigeria from $15,000 visa bond imposed on travellers


- 15 African nations affected
The United States has imposed a $15,000 bond on tourist and business travellers from 24 countries with high overstay rate in 2019.
The list, which excludes Nigeria, includes 15 African nations such as Libya, Liberia and Angola.
Nigerian is not on the list as its overall score was said to be below the threshold of 10 per cent and above overstaying rate.
The new rule requires travellers to the US from the affected countries to pay a bond from $5,000 to $15,000 with effect from December 24.
The programme runs through June 24 and targets countries whose nationals have higher rates of overstaying B-2 visas for tourists and B-1 visas for business travellers.
A Department of Home Security report shows the worst offenders were typically from Chad (44.94 per cent), Djibouti (37.91 per cent), and Mauritania (30.49 per cent).
Other African countries affected are Angola, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, Cape Verde and Burundi.
The list also includes Iran at 21.64 per cent and Afghanistan at 11.99 per cent, as well as Bhutan, Laos, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Yemen.
According to the DHS, out of 177,835 Nigerians who visited the US in 2019, 17,566 overstayed, of which 764 departed late and 16,802 stayed in the country.
The overstaying rate was put at between 9.45-9.88 per cent but in other classifications, 11.12 per cent of 9,336 Nigerian non-immigrant and exchange visitors overstayed.
Another 13.67 per cent of in-scope nonimmigrant visitors also overstayed same year.
A report by Reuters quoted the Trump administration as noting that the six-month pilot programme aimed to test the feasibility of collecting such bonds and would serve as a diplomatic deterrence to overstaying the visas.
Trump, who lost a re-election bid earlier this month, made restricting immigration a central part of his four-year term in office.
President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat, has pledged to reverse many of the Republican president’s immigration policies, but untangling hundreds of changes could take months or years.
Politics
S’Court fines Ozekhome N40m for revisiting 2019 Imo gov suit


S’Court fines Ozekhome N40m for revisiting 2019 Imo gov suit
The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed N40m fine on constitutional lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome.
He was fined for filing a ‘frivolous, vexatious and irritating motion’ before the court with respect to Imo State governorship tussle that was decided in 2019.
Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, called to the Nigerian Bar over 42 years ago and was fined a huge amount for bringing a motion before the Apex Court seeking to revalidate the suit that removed Emeka Ihedioha as Governor of Imo State in 2019.
The Senior lawyer was ordered in a ruling by Justice Tijani Abubakar to personally pay the N40M fine to four respondents he dragged before the Court.
Those to be paid are the Action People’s Party, APP, Uche Nnadi, Uche Nwosu and the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
In the motion considered to be frivolous by the Court, Ozekhome had asked the Court for a consequential order to compel INEC to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to Ihedioha to enable him spend a four-year tenure as Imo Governor.
His grouse was that the incumbent governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma unlawfully spent the four years that Ihedioha ought to spend.
Among others, Ozekhome in the motion claimed that the All Progressives Congress APC had no candidate in the 2019 Imo Governorship election, hence, Uzodinmma ought not to have been made governor on the platform of APC.
However, the Apex Court dismissed the motion on the ground that it has no jurisdiction to entertain such a motion.
Justice Abubakar held in the ruling that the request was strange, frivolous, baseless, unwarranted, vexatious and irritating.
He further held that the motion was a calculated design to demonize the Supreme Court.
News
BREAKING: Adeleke appoints Justice Afolabi Osun acting Chief judge


BREAKING: Adeleke appoints Justice Afolabi Osun acting Chief judge
Following the suspension of Osun State Chief Judge, Justice Oyebola Ojo, Governor Ademola Adeleke has appointed Justice Olayinka Afolabi as acting chief judge of the state.
A statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, stated the appointment is consequent upon the approval of the resolution of the House of Assembly asking Justice Ojo to step aside.
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It reads, “Governor Ademola Adeleke has appointed Justice Olayinka David Afolabi as the acting Chief Judge of Osun State with immediate effect following the approval of the resolution of the House of Assembly.”
BREAKING: Adeleke appoints Justice Afolabi Osun acting Chief judge
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