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The Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi, Kenya, has stopped Nigerian journalusts from attending the 2023 Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC23) in Gothenburg, Sweden by denying them visas.
Among the journalists denied visas on flimsy are four editorial staff members of THE WHISTLER, who had been invited to participate in the GIJC23 event, schedule from September 19-22, 2023.
Despite providing the necessary documents, including purchased tickets, travel and hotel bookings, and bank statements showing financial support from their newsroom, the journalists were met with baffling and inconsistent reasons for visa denials.
Tadujeen Suleiman, the Managing Editor of THE WHISTLER, who had previously attended the biannual conference, received a rejection letter citing his lack of prior visits to the Schengen area as a reason for the denial.
The embassy expressed concerns about his intention to leave the Schengen member states before the visa expiration and questioned his status in Nigeria due to the “general socioeconomic” situation in the country.
In another case, Nneoma Benson, the Head of Crime Desk at THE WHISTLER, was told that despite her recent visit to the Schengen area with a visa issued by Germany in June 2023, she could not be granted another entry visa. The embassy emphasised that previous visits alone did not justify the purpose of her intended stay in Sweden.
Tayo Olu, the Deputy Editor of THE WHISTLER, was also denied due to another baffling excuse. The embassy demanded proof of marriage and family ties in Nigeria, which Olu provided with a marriage certificate, birth certificates of his two children, and evidence of his spouse’s name change issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Curiously, despite THE WHISTLER newspaper’s registration status with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) being updated from “inactive” to active and the provision of a current Tax Clearance Certificate from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the appeals were rejected without explanations.
The refusal of visas has raised questions of discrimination against Nigerians and frustration among journalists, who had prepared their visa applications with all required documents.
