Disregard old video on Nigerian embassy in Senegal, say Dabiri- Erewa, perm sec

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as well as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa have drawn attention to an old video footage being generated on social media of the violent destruction of the Nigerian Embassy in Senegal during a protest.

This was sequel to the latest video footage circulating on the social media showing the destruction of the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar, by a group of hoodlums protesting against the manner in which the death of a Nigerian, Mr. Kingsley Irogbulam was handled by the Embassy.

In separate press statements, they both noted that the incident took place on March 4, 2013 and it is not a recent development.The ministry recalled that at the time it happened, the matter was resolved to the satisfaction of all sides. Appropriate steps were taken by the Embassy to address the grievances of the Nigerian community including arrangements for a decent burial of the deceased Nigerian.

Dabiri-Erewa in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, corroborated the facts and advised Nigerians at home and in Diaspora to avoid misleading information about their country and its interests anywhere in the world.


It was also alleged that the mission failed to give them sufficient funds for the burial of the Nigerian whose corpse had over-stayed in the morgue. 

 Hon. Dabiri-Erewa stated that the House of Representatives intervened in the matter in March 2013 when she was the Chairperson of the committee on Diaspora. Any discerning person who goggles the video will see the date clearly in March 2013.

“It is therefore surprising that this old video footage suddenly went viral in the social media, purporting to show the destruction of the Nigerian Embassy three years after the incident occurred and the matter resolved,” she stressed.


“Information at the supervising Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that the Embassy is in good shape and continues to discharge its duties and obligations to Nigerians in Senegal.”


Both statements further advised members of the public to be more discerning of information being circulated on social media by carrying out checks before jumping into conclusions, warning also against gullibility to incorrect and destructive information.