A Rejoinder to thePienews.com publication titled 'Agents in Nigeria helping students break UK immigration rules' and published on 14th January 2022

We read with dismay, the publication in Pie News dated 14th of January 2022 and titled "Agents in Nigeria helping students break UK immigration rules" and marvel at the allegations and unprofessional report of the author Mr Will Nott and The Pie News. To put records straight, no agents in Nigeria helps students break UK immigration rules. No agents in Nigeria has the capacity to lend such funding to teeming number of students intending to study abroad. It's absurd to imagine that such is possible. Again regarding the references made by Mr Will Nott as to agencies that provides such services, we are yet to see where in the adverts that the purported Proof of Fund is for UK visa process. As far as we can see, UK was never mentioned or referenced in the adverts and we have 195 countries in the world today where Nigerian students can seek to study. This is a clear evidence that Mr Will Nott have a sinister motive in his article. Or is it only UK that requires proof of fund?

What the writer and Pie News failed to understand is that the Proof of Fund service as he literally understands it is an educational loans being legally provided by financial institutions as its being done in every developed countries including UK. This what Mr Will Nott would have found out if he has conducted his research as a qualified and trained investigative journalist but no, he was looking for a quick news to dish out. It's quite evident that Mr Will Nott never conducts any research for his report but rather buy news from every unscrupulous individuals that have anything to write. (you see that in his Twitter handles where he ask people to send news for him for publication). An indepth reading of the article will show one that this must have been a clear case of a particular agency trying to discredit others and market themselves by selling such unfounded report to Mr Will Nott. It would not be surprised to discover that the agency mentioned (Intake Partners) paid him for the news in order to promote their agency as a reputable company and discredit others who they saw as their major competitor (this is typical example of how Taiwan companies work). Nobody even know the Intake Partners exists in Nigeria, so they needed this publicity. If Mr Will Nott claimed to have spoken to the named reputable agency - as he claimed them to be - about the purported practice, why didn't he also speak with those agency he is accusing of the act to ascertain the truth of what he alleges or even play spy role to get the true pictures as a good journalist. Mr Will Nott knew the gravity of his unfounded report, that is why he resigned (if not dismissed) from the Pie News immediately (same day) after publishing his unfounded report on 14th of January.

It's disheartening to why every activity that concerns Nigeria is tagged fraud. Banks and other financial institutions in Nigeria provides educational loans as part of their loan services to students that want to study both in Nigeria and outside Nigeria. As part of a standard business marketing practice globally, businesses including banks may choose to promote their services through cross-marketing, by cross-marketing banks try to reach out to students who may have various needs for students loan - from tuition fee payment to funds for living expenses - through businesses that have links with students.

To the best of our knowledge providing students loans by financial institutions for whatever purpose are not illegal and such services are available to students in every developed countries to either study in their country or outside their countries. The UK itself has various educational loans for students to take care of either their tuition fee or living expenses. These loans are provided and advertised by UK government on their websites (in social medias too) - https://www.gov.uk/student-finance -
as well as provided by private finance institutions and banks in UK - https://www.futurefinance.com/. The USA and Australia also have such loan in place, so why is the Nigerian own be different? (https://www.internationalstudentloan.com/eligible_schools/international/Uk/)

If we investigate further we may even discover that Mr Will Nott and most of Pie News staff might have studied using a student loan. They are many students from Nigeria, just like in UK indigenous students and students of other developed countries, who have successfully used such educational loan to finance and finish their studies in many countries.

We have also never heard of any report that any Nigerian student have failed to pay his or her tuition fee as and when due while in UK. Nigerian students are industrious and academically bright and will continue to be an attraction for renowned institutions in UK and all over the world. Records are there of thousands of Nigerians that have graduated with first class from top rated universities across the world even in UK. We have received commendations from our partners for sending quality students to them. It's very disheartening that Pie News and Mr Will Nott will stoop so low to be used by Intake Partners to promote their agency with such frivolous news.

We see this publication as an effort by Mr Will or his paid patrons to either discredit other reputable agencies and promote his payers - his 'claimed' reputable agency who nobody knew of or even worst, to cast aspersions on the image of Nigerians by individuals who are envious of the souring academic success of Nigerian students in UK and in other foreign countries - only Mr Will Nott knew what his sinister motive for writing the unfounded news is.

Because if in UK and just like in every other developed countries, students take Educational loan to study in UK or in their respective countries. Why would Nigeria own be different?

To write such news and tag it visa fraud is demeaning because it is Nigeria. If such loan service is said to be a visa fraud, can we also rightly say that a person who took a loan from a bank to start a business committed an Economic Fraud? Or what will we say about UK indigenous students that study with loans in UK and other countries like USA etc? Which fraud are they committing? Just asking

We demand that the Pie News and Mr Will Nott should tender a public apology in respect of this unfounded report.

Enough is enough.