•Nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom (UK), under investigation for suspected fraudulent activities.
• Nigerian applicants allegedly acquired fraudulent results from Yunnik Technologies, Oyo state.
Numerous Nigerians who applied for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the regulatory body overseeing nursing and midwifery professions in the United Kingdom (UK), are currently under investigation for suspected fraudulent activities.
This inquiry is being conducted by the NMC itself.
The NMC maintains a registry of eligible professionals allowed to practice as nurses, nursing associates, and midwives in the UK.
To join this registry, international professionals are required to undergo two tests: a Computer-Based Test (CBT), typically taken in their home country, and a practical test in the UK.
The investigation was prompted by concerns about manipulated results at the Yunnik Technologies test center in Oyo State. Subsequent scrutiny uncovered substantial fraudulent activities linked to its CBT services.
The NMC's awareness of these incidents was raised in May, leading to the launch of the investigation.
According to a report published in the UK journal Nursing Standard, the NMC later identified that numerous Nigerian applicants had fraudulently acquired results from Yunnik Technologies.
In response to these findings, over 1,950 candidates who presented results from the Ibadan-based test center are now required to retake the test.
Moreover, the NMC discovered evidence of proxy testers at the test center, and there were suspicions that 48 out of the 515 professionals who took the test there had obtained fraudulent registrations.
The Nursing Standard report stated, "Each of them will now be referred to an investigating committee to determine if they gained fraudulent entry to the register. They will be offered three chances to take and pass a new CBT and will be given the opportunity to provide the investigating committee with information about the circumstances in which they took the initial test at Yunnik. If they are found to have fraudulently gained registration, they will be removed from the register. All other CBT results are being treated as invalid. The remaining 467 professionals on the register who took the test at the center will need to resit the test."
The report also noted that individuals who decline to retake the CBT or do not pass after three retake attempts will be referred to an investigating committee.
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