A group of 47 Nigerian medical students who escaped war-torn Sudan in May 2023 are now struggling to register for the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria examination due to a document requirement.

The students, many of whom fled or were evacuated by the Federal Government without exit visas, are currently racing against time to meet the registration deadline, with their future careers hanging precariously in the balance.

The students, who were enrolled at Sudan International University (SIU), were evacuated to Nigeria during the 2023 conflict in Sudan while in their final year of study.

According to the students, with the approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC), they were permitted to continue their academic programme at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) in Sokoto.

Speaking during an interview on Sunday in Abuja, one of the students said: “We successfully completed our studies and graduated in 2024, receiving our certificates as students of SIU.”

He added that they were currently preparing to sit the MDCN examinations.

The student, however, added that one of the requirements was presenting a first entry visa and a last exit visa.

“Unfortunately, none of us have these documents as most of our passports remained in Sudan due to the emergency evacuation. We respectfully request permission to sit for the examinations scheduled for June 2025,” he said.

The President of the Nigerian Students Association at SIU, Najid Hassan, confirmed that due to the war in Sudan, Nigerian students were evacuated by the Federal Government.

Mr Hassan explained that with NUC approval, the affected students were allowed to continue their academic programme at UDUTH following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SIU and UDUTH.

“After the MoU, we resumed studies at UDUTH in December 2023 and spent one year there. We completed clinical rotations, lectures in gynaecology, paediatrics, surgery, and medicine, and graduated in October 2024. We took examinations supervised by consultants at UDUTH,” Mr Hassan said.

He added that after graduation, students were awarded certificates bearing the SIU name.

Mr Hassan, however, said that when they approached MDCN for registration, the process, expected to be seamless, became challenging.

“We are currently preparing for the MDCN exams, but one requirement is the submission of a ‘first entry visa and a last exit visa.’ Unfortunately, none of us have these documents because most passports remain in Sudan due to emergency evacuation,” Mr Hassan said.

He appealed to the Federal Government to intervene.

MDCN is the regulatory body for Medicine and Dentistry in Nigeria and was established by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act.

The Act had been operational since December 18, 1963, and updated under the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The council’s statutory functions include setting and reviewing standards for medical and dental education.

Section 9(3) and (4) of the Act empowers the council to conduct assessment exams for holders of foreign medical or dental qualifications recognised by their countries of origin.

Candidates expected to sit the examinations are trained outside Nigeria at institutions listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools.

One of the application requirements is submitting relevant portions of international passports, including visa and arrival/departure stamps.

In a 2024 publication addressing students returning from conflict zones, MDCN Registrar Dr Fatima Kyari, reaffirmed these rules but expressed sympathy for students affected by COVID-19 and conflicts in Ukraine and Sudan.

Ms Kyari stated, “The council has held extensive consultations and developed remediation pathways to facilitate integration. Students graduating in 2023 or later were advised to return to a designated campus of their foreign university to complete studies physically. They can also transfer to an accredited Nigerian university, subject to NUC approval; or integrate into a Nigerian university per NUC guidelines. Many students from Sudan and Ukraine have successfully integrated through these pathways, exempting them from the foreign-trained medical and dental graduates (FTMDG) exams if graduating from Nigerian institutions.”

She explained that the MoU with UDUTH was an academic collaboration and did not equate to clinical training for medical qualification recognised by MDCN.

She noted that students who properly transferred and graduated from Nigerian universities approved by MDCN had been indexed, graduated, and registered as doctors.

The Federal Ministry of Education, through the Director of University Education, Rakiya Ilyasu, acknowledged the situation.

She advised the affected students to formally write to the minister of education, including their names, and to copy the Director of Education Support Services to help facilitate a resolution.

Similarly, NUC Deputy Executive Secretary, Chris Maiyaki, confirmed the development and advised the students to contact the ministry of education to resolve the issues.

However, efforts to get the reaction of the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, regarding the students’ plea proved unsuccessful.

Similarly, efforts to get the response of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS) on the development were not successful.

The deputy provost of the medical school said that he had no authority to speak on the issue, while the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bashir Garba, said he was on transit and would respond appropriately.

(NAN)