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UK asylum seekers in hotels should have been given money for phone calls, judge rules

asylum seekers

UK asylum seekers in hotels should have been given money for phone calls, judge rules

A Home Office decision not to give thousands of asylum seekers money to make calls to friends and family during the pandemic has been ruled unlawful by the high court.

The government could be forced to backdate the weekly payments for an estimated 10,000 asylum seekers, potentially costing millions of pounds.

Following an earlier hearing, the Home Office agreed to make payments and back payments of £8 a week for other essential living costs previously denied to asylum seekers living in hotels, which officials say is costing £4m. But phone costs were not included.

The case was brought by an asylum seeker from Honduras who was placed in hotel accommodation from May 2020 until February 2021.

The judge, Mrs Justice Farbey, ruled that being able to communicate by phone was essential for “interpersonal and social relationships as well as cultural and religious life”.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Home Office has increased its use of hotels, hostels and barracks to house asylum seekers almost tenfold, with many staying there for months.

Previously, new arrivals would be housed in such accommodation for only a few weeks and so were not given money to fund essentials.

Internal documents disclosed to the high court the day before the hearing began revealed that in August 2020 senior Home Office officials urged the home secretary, Priti Patel, and the-then immigration minister Chris Philp to make payments of £12.11 a week to asylum seekers in hotels for essential living needs.

However, Patel and Philp rejected the recommendations on the basis that “the asylum system already appears more generous than European equivalents and we do not want to further increase any possible pull factors”.

Ahmed Aydeed, of Duncan Lewis Solicitors, who represented the asylum seeker in the case, said: “The home secretary, throughout the pandemic, failed to meet the essential living needs of asylum seekers. She chose to ignore the advice of her civil servants and has again been forced by the courts to do the right thing. We are glad our clients finally have access to everyday essentials and can communicate with their families again.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “During the height of the pandemic, to ensure asylum seekers were not left destitute, additional full-board accommodation was required at extremely short notice, but we are working to end the use of hotel accommodation.

“Needs related to food and toiletries continue to be met by the accommodation provider under existing contractual arrangements and we provide a weekly cash allowance. We continually review the provision to make sure it meet the needs of those in our care and will look carefully with our providers to ensure provision for communication is available.”

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EFCC seals Kaduna hotel for breaching money laundering act

The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, of the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has sealed up Hampton Hilton Hotel and Apartments, Kaduna, for non-compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations of the Financial Action Task Force, FATF for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, DNFBPs.

The entity was found to have committed multiple infractions in the course of the first evaluation carried out on it, on June 4, 2024, leading to the issuance of administrative sanctions to it by SCUML.

It was also found to have committed further infractions following the compliance evaluation of June 13, 2025, for which it was slammed N2,300,000.00 (Two Million Three Hundred Thousand Naira) fine, payable within seven days and with instruction to ensure full compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations or face further consequences.

While it refused to pay the fine, it, as well, dishonoured SCUML’s invite to show up for compliance evaluation, resulting in the sealing of the premises.

The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, ensures DNFBPs’ compliance with Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations.

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Buhari could have long been dead if he had chosen to be treated in Nigeria -Fmr aide Adesina

Former spokesperson to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has defended the decision of late President Buhari to always seek medical attention abroad before and after he left office.

In a chat with Channels TV this morning, Adesina who served as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Buhari said;

‘’Buhari always had his medical in London, even when he was not in office. So, it’s not about the time he was president alone. He had always had it in London and then, you have to be alive first to get certain things corrected in your country. If he had said, ‘I will do my medical in Nigeria just as a show-off or something,’ he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country but he needed to be alive to lead the country to a point where we will have that expertise”

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Buhari’s body arrives in Daura from Katsina for final burial

The remains of Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has arrived in his hometown of Daura from Katsina ahead of his burial later today.

The body, which was flown into the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina from the United Kingdom earlier in the day, was received with full state protocol by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, and members of the late president’s family.

From the airport, the late leader’s remains were transported by a specially prepared ambulance under tight security to Daura, a journey marked by solemnity and respect, with hundreds of residents lining parts of the route to pay their final respects.

Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s Head of State from 1983 to 1985 and returned as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, died in London on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at the age of 82 after a brief illness.

According to Islamic tradition, he will be buried later today at his private residence in Daura.

Dignitaries, traditional rulers, political leaders, and sympathizers from across Nigeria have already gathered in Daura for the Janazah prayers and final interment, with security operatives deployed across the ancient town to ensure a peaceful ceremony

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