Nigerian media advocacy group, Estreet ONTV, has decried the continued ill-treatment of Nigerians who reside in other countries, stressing that the sad situation was becoming alarming.
The group took their cry to the headquarters of the Nigerians in the Diaspora (NiDCOM) in Abuja on the general maltreatment of Nigerians abroad but more specifically on the continued detention of a Nigerian cleric, Pastor Benjamin Egbaji, in Benin Republic on yet to be substantiated charges.
Recall that Nigerians had staged a protest to the Benin Republic Embassy in Abuja recently to register their displeasure over the circumstances surrounding the detention of Pastor Egbaji, even as they urged the Nigerian government to intervene in the matter and also look into several cases of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in several countries.
Leader of the group, Samson Eze, who led the group at a media chat with the spokesman of NiDCOM, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said that apart from Mr Egbaji, over 5,000 other Nigerians were languishing in detention in Benin Republic. He noted that this is an affront to the people and government of Nigeria that a neighbouring West African country could inflict such harm on Nigerians with the Nigerian government doing little or nothing to address the situation.
He called on the government to apply the principle of reciprocity to show its power and clout in reaction to the unacceptable behaviour from the authorities in Benin Republic. The group claimed that Pastor Benjamin Egbaji may have been set up due to his popularity in the country.
“There seems to be this hatred for Nigerians in the Diaspora, the moment you say you’re a Nigerian like the case of South Africa or any other part of the world, there seems to be this hatred, people begin to hate you for nothing. We’ve heard a series of stories of our people being victimized or attacked simply because they are Nigerians,” the group lamented.
Responding, NiDCOm spokesman Balogun assured them that the government has intervened in the case of the cleric by providing additional legal representation, which he believed will go a long way to help in his case. He noted that the country will apply diplomatic efforts to ensure justice for the Nigerian detainee. He, however, noted that everyone should wait for the outcome since the matter was before a court of law.
He also advised Nigerians to be good ambassadors of the country by being law-abiding in their host countries, stressing that intervention of the government will be easier if cases against Nigerians abroad are not based on criminality and infringement of the laws of their host countries.