The hope of Nigerians wishing to study in the United States of America (USA) and possibly get scholarships there, have been dashed with the latest decision of an examination body, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), to suspend its operations in the country.

TOEFL is an admission requirement developed to measure the English language proficiency of non-native English speakers wishing to enroll in U.S. universities.

In a terse email to TOEFL candidates, who have registered for the examination and are about to sit for it, the body said it was suspending its examination in Nigeria due to security concerns.

“Due to security concerns in Nigeria, TOEFL testing in the country has been suspended for an indefinite period.

”Test takers who had an appointment to take the test have had their appointment cancelled and a refund has been issued.

“If you arranged for your test registration payment through a third party, the refund has been issued to the third party. You must contact the third party to receive your refund”.

Though the statement did not highlight the nature of the security concern, which informed its decision to suspend the test in Nigeria, it could however not be unconnected with the Boko Haram and kidnapping menace that have been plaguing the country for sometime now.