The United Nations Migration Agency, International Organization for Migration (IOM), has advised migrants to be cautious of a syndicate that specializes in offering fake employment letters to Nigerians who want to work in the United Kingdom, UK.
The IOM disclosed that over 260,000 Nigerians had approached it in 2023, seeking guidance on how to migrate through regular or approved routes and also undergoing pre-departure medical health assessments.
The UN agency said no fewer than a thousand Nigerians are currently stranded in the UK, having gotten visas based on the fake employment letters procured for them, only to get to the respective organizations in the UK and then be denied work because the letters did not emanate from those organizations.
IOM’s Chief of Mission, Mr Laurent De Boeck, at a news conference Monday in Abuja, said;
“There are some of them who lost over $10,000 only to be given fake employment letters, which allowed them to get visas. They get there, present the letters, and the organizations tell them that the letters did not emanate from the organizations. Over a thousand people are affected,” he stated.
De Boeck also added that IOM was working with partners to repatriate thousands of persons, including Nigerians, from Tunisia, which has recently placed a ban on migration.
He said the IOM is working extensively with Italy to develop regular pathways for qualified Nigerians and that it would also engage other countries like Spain, Belgium, France, and others.