• NiDCOM flays fate of Nigerians in India
The families of over 270 Nigerians detained in Ethiopia’s Kalite Prison have appealed to the Federal Government for urgent intervention to secure the release or transfer of their loved ones back home.
The detainees, many of whom have been held for long, are said to be facing deplorable conditions, including inadequate food, poor medical care, brutality, and extortion by prison officials.
Some inmates are reportedly battling severe health complications. Speaking on behalf of the affected families, the President General of My Dreamalive Development Foundation, Onwuka Ifeanyi Collins, in a statement, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly, state governors, and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) to act swiftly to rescue the detained citizens.
He called on the government to activate the Prisoner Transfer Arrangement already signed with the Ethiopian authorities as a way of ending the ordeal.
MEANWHILE, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has said it received with deep distress and utter dismay reports alleging the rape, assault, and forced administration of unknown substances on Nigerian girls held in deportation camps in New Delhi, India.
In a statement issued by the Director Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Chairman/CEO Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, strongly condemned the reported abuses, saying: “Nigerian citizens, wherever they are in the world, must not be treated as less than human, nor should their vulnerability be exploited under the guise of immigration procedures.
We are further alarmed by claims that corrupt practices involving middlemen and certain groups are worsening the plight of our citizens through exploitation and extortion. If verified, such actions not only endanger lives but also undermine justice and due process.”
NiDCOM reassured the victims and their families that the disturbing reports would not be ignored.
