From Bolaji Oyegunle, London The Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom has warned members of the diaspora to ignore a letter purported from the Commonwealth Secretariat offering them a National ID Card for Commonwealth Citizenship.
Currently being circulated electronically, the letter asks Nigerians to apply for the identity cards for a fee of between £300 and £150 in what has been dubbed a scam.
Alerted to the problem, the Nigerian High Commission in the UK has asked Nigerians to ignore the letter, after liaising with the British Home office on the matter.
In a letter to the Nigeria High Commission in London, Britain’s Home Office made it clear that no such scheme exists and no Commonwealth citizens, be they British or Nigerian have been asked to apply for the ID cards.
Under the scam, the fraudsters who drafted the letter claim that anyone who gets such an ID card would be eligible for indefinite stay in the UK.
Their letter read: “Nigerians who are in the UK illegally can class themselves as Commonwealth citizens and thereby be exempt from immigration removal from the UK.”
In a swift rebuttal, Paul Wylie, a director at the Home Office, said: “I would like to clarify that this is not true and such a declaration is not a lawful barrier to enforcement action by Home Office Immigration Enforcement.”
Having received the Home Office letter, the Nigerian High Commission in the UK has asked the diaspora to avoid being ripped off. In its letter to the acting High Commissioner Olakunle Bamgbose, the Home Office had urged him to warn the diaspora about the scam.
