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A UK coroner has ruled that Beatrice Solomon, a 27-year-old Nigerian caregiver who arrived in Britain in 2023, died by suicide after battling mental health challenges.

Ms Solomon was found unresponsive at her home on Norris Road, Stanfield, Stoke-on-Trent, on 4 March 2026. Her husband, Damian Butler, discovered her when he returned briefly from his delivery job.

Delivering her conclusion at the inquest, Coroner Li Hammond-Naylor said Beatrice Solomon had researched and planned how to end her life. A post-mortem examination by pathologist Dr Jones found she died from oxygen deprivation.

Mr Butler told the hearing that his wife had been struggling with her mental health for around a year. He linked some of her difficulties to ongoing issues with Stoke-on-Trent City Council. He also disclosed that she had made two previous suicide attempts.

Emergency services were called to the property but Ms Solomon, a mother-of-one, was pronounced dead at the scene at 18:21. Staffordshire Police ruled out any third-party involvement.

Beatrice Solomon moved to the UK from Nigeria in November 2023 on a skilled worker visa and was working as a caregiver. She is survived by her husband, young son and siblings.

This tragic case draws attention to the significant mental health challenges faced by many migrant workers in the UK’s care sector. Relocating to a new country, cultural adjustment, separation from family, and demanding shift work can place immense emotional strain on individuals.

Public health experts have highlighted that African and other migrant communities often encounter additional barriers to mental health support, including stigma, language issues, and limited access to culturally sensitive services. Despite the vital contribution of international caregivers to the NHS and social care system, tailored wellbeing support remains inconsistent.

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The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has voided the Federal Government’s policy requiring education directors to retire after spending eight years in office, ruling that teachers and education officers who become directors are entitled to remain in service until they attain 65 years of age or complete 40 years of pensionable service.

Delivering judgment in Abuja on July 10, 2026, Justice O. Y. Anuwe nullified circulars issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Education seeking to enforce the eight-year tenure rule against teachers and education officers serving as directors.

According to the CTC obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday, the court held that the circulars were inconsistent with the provisions of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, and were therefore invalid to the extent that they applied to teachers and education officers.

“A teacher or education officer, whether he or she got to the post of director or not, is entitled to retire from service on attaining 65 years of age or 40 years of service,” Justice Anuwe held.

The judge added that serving as a director for eight years “is not a retirement condition for teachers any longer.”

The suit, marked NICN/ABJ/79/2025, was instituted by Mrs Rakiya Gambo Iliyasu, a Grade Level 17 director in the University Education Department of the Federal Ministry of Education, who challenged directives requiring directors who had spent eight years in office to retire.

Iliyasu argued that as an education officer, she qualified as a teacher under the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, which guarantees compulsory retirement only at the age of 65 years or after 40 years of pensionable service.

She contended that the February 2026 circulars issued by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Education unlawfully sought to compel her and other education directors to retire before reaching the statutory retirement age.

Agreeing with the claimant, Justice Anuwe held that Section 3 of the Teachers’ Retirement Age Act expressly exempts teachers from any Public Service Rule requiring retirement before the age of 65 years or 40 years of pensionable service.

The judge also relied on the Act’s definition of a teacher, which expressly includes education officers, holding that the claimant fell squarely within the category of officers protected by the law.

The court further observed that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had, in an earlier 2025 correspondence, acknowledged that education officers covered by the Act were exempt from the eight-year tenure policy, making the government’s subsequent issuance of retirement directives inconsistent with its earlier position.

Consequently, the court declared the February 10, 2026, circular issued by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the February 24 and February 26, 2026, circulars issued by the Federal Ministry of Education illegal, null and void insofar as they applied to teachers and education officers.

Justice Anuwe also set aside the three circulars and granted a perpetual injunction restraining the Federal Government and the Ministry of Education from implementing the eight-year tenure policy against teachers and education officers in a manner inconsistent with the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act.

Each party was ordered to bear its own costs.

The dispute arose after the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Education issued circulars in February 2026 directing that directors who had spent eight years in office should retire in line with Rule 020909 of the Public Service Rules.

The directives affected several directors in the Federal Ministry of Education who are career education officers, despite the enactment of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, which extended the retirement age of teachers in public educational institutions to 65 years or 40 years of pensionable service.

The 2022 Act was signed into law to address the shortage of experienced teachers, improve retention of skilled education personnel and strengthen the quality of teaching and learning in Nigeria.

It also broadened the definition of teachers to include education officers, a provision that became central to the legal dispute.

The judgment is expected to have significant implications for director-level education officers across the Federal Ministry of Education and other education-related federal agencies, as it clarifies that the provisions of the Teachers’ Retirement Age Act override the eight-year tenure rule in the Public Service Rules for officers protected under the law.

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The newly inaugurated President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, on Tuesday declared a state of emergency on the worsening condition of students’ hostels across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, describing the facilities as unfit for human habitation and a major threat to learning.

Speaking at his inauguration in Abuja, Afeez painted a grim picture of accommodation in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, accusing authorities of neglecting hostel infrastructure while millions of students are forced to live in unsafe, overcrowded and unhealthy environments.

He warned that the continued deterioration of hostel facilities could no longer be tolerated, insisting that students’ welfare, safety and dignity would become the defining focus of his administration.

“The state of students’ hostels across our tertiary institutions is pathetically disheartening. Many hostels are in a deplorable and dilapidated condition, and they continue to deteriorate with little or no attention from the relevant authorities,” he said.

Lamenting poor sanitation, inadequate facilities and exposure to environmental hazards, the NANS president declared: “I hereby declare a state of emergency on students’ hostels across tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The welfare, safety and dignity of Nigerian students can no longer be compromised.”

Beyond accommodation, Afeez promised to transform NANS into a more proactive pressure group capable of compelling government institutions to respond to students’ concerns.

He said the era of symbolic activism was over, stressing that the association would focus on advocacy, accountability and measurable outcomes.

“NANS must return to being the true voice of every Nigerian student,not just in words but in action. You deserve an association that is fearless in advocating for you, pragmatic and transparent in its actions, and consistent in delivering results,” he stated.

Highlighting achievements recorded within his first 50 days in office, Afeez said the association had intervened in the rescue efforts involving abducted students and teachers in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State and facilitated the reinstatement of suspended students at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology ,LAUTECH, and the Federal University Oye-Ekiti ,FUOYE.

He also disclosed that NANS had constituted monitoring committees to track interventions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund ,TETFund, Niger Delta Development Commission ,NDDC, North East Development Commission ,NEDC,and the Industrial Training Fund ,ITF, with the aim of ensuring that students fully benefit from government programmes.

On the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Afeez said the association would closely monitor implementation of the student loan scheme and confront challenges affecting beneficiaries.

He announced that payment of students’ upkeep allowances would begin within the week and revealed that NANS had published a list of institutions allegedly withholding refunds due to students despite receiving NELFUND disbursements.

The student leader also unveiled plans to mobilise students ahead of the next general elections, saying NANS would spearhead a nationwide campaign for Permanent Voter Card (PVC) registration to increase youth participation in governance.

“As Nigerian students, and with NANS as our umbrella body, we constitute a large percentage of the nation’s population. We must be actively involved in determining who governs us,” he said.

He further pledged to pursue stronger partnerships aimed at expanding access to scholarships, employment opportunities, telecommunications support and quality education while preparing Nigerian students to compete in a technology-driven global economy.

Representing the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the Director of Polytechnic and Allied Institutions, Mrs Amy Igwe, urged the new NANS leadership to promote peace, unity and responsible engagement in advancing students’ interests.

She said the Federal Ministry of Education regarded NANS as a strategic partner in the development of the country’s education sector and advised the new executives to embrace dialogue in resolving challenges.

“The Ministry of Education recognises NANS as a critical stakeholder and partner in the development of our education sector. I charge you to lead with vision, unity, responsibility and patriotism,” the minister said.

In a keynote address, the Vice-Chancellor of Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Prof. Temi Ologunorisa, challenged the new leadership to champion accountability, innovation, security and students’ welfare.

He urged NANS to monitor the implementation of government intervention programmes to ensure no student was denied access to available support and called on the association to launch a national innovation initiative within its first 100 days in office.

Goodwill messages were also delivered by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande; Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students’ Engagement, Sunday Asefon.

They congratulated Afeez on his emergence and pledged continued collaboration with NANS in advancing students’ welfare, empowerment and youth development across the country.