ALLEGED maltreatment of Nigerians in China by security agents and the planned cremation of the remains of 30 Nigerians, who died in Chinese detention camps, may soon spark diplomatic rows between Nigeria and the Asian country.
Members of the House of Representatives yesterday challenged the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to make public the identities of Chinese nationals residing in Nigeria with statistics of those with valid papers.
The lawmakers attributed the high concentration of Nigerians in China, many of whom are said to be involved in crime to the failure of the Federal Government to guarantee the social security for its citizens.
The permanent secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Joe Keshi, had said that some 732 Nigerians were currently in detention in Chinese prisons for various offences.
But the Chairman of the House Committee on Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who articulated the position of her colleagues in a statement, challenged the government “to act rather than make veiled statements” adding that there are many Chinese living as illegal immigrants in the country.
She queried the Foreign Affairs Ministry for not taking proactive steps in redressing the plight of those detained in China, arguing that even if they are criminals, they deserve to be treated fairly.
According to her, the lower chamber of the National Assembly was strongly opposed to the cremation of about 30 corpses of Nigerians in China due to negligence from the Nigerian embassy and wickedness of Chinese officials.
Her words: “It is unfortunate that such a large number of our citizens are wallowing in detention in a foreign land whereas our government is playing lip service. Whereas this is as a result of the failure of government to the needs of its citizens and we want this to change.
“Nigerians cannot continue to be treated as animals; we are human beings and must be accorded that respect. The question is, are there no Chinese in Nigeria without valid papers? We have more Chinese illegal immigrants in Nigeria than Nigerians in china, but no one clamps them in detention. What has the government done about them?’ she queried.
Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa lamented that the Nigerian embassy in China has failed the nation by not taking proper care of its citizens in that country.
According to her, Chinese nationals without valid papers living in Nigeria are adequately covered and protected by their embassy
She said: “We challenge the foreign affairs ministry and the Nigerian Immigration Service to give us the number of all Chinese living in Nigeria . It is on record that Chinese are the greatest immigrants on earth and you find them all over Nigeria . We are not encouraging Nigerians to enter other countries illegally or get involved in crimes.
“We are against any Nigerian soiling the country’s name; a lot of the cases are unfairly exaggerated to the detriment of Nigerians there.
“We are calling on the ministry of foreign affairs to ensure that these Nigerians are fairly treated. If they are to be deported, it should be done decently and not in a dehumanizing manner.”
While condemning the practice whereby corpses of Nigerians who die in Chinese detention China were cremated on flimsy excuse that their families could not be traced, Abike-Dabiri noted; ‘’The issue of cremating them is a not acceptable. We believe the embassy has not done enough to trace the families, fake name or not.
“We recall the case of Safiu Salaudeen , a young, budding footballer, legally resident in China , whose life was wasted. No embassy official showed up to claim his corpse.
“Nigerian students had to raise $500 to bury him, an incident which sparked protests against the Nigerian embassy in china ‘’,she added
According to her, “What we saying to ourselves is if our embassy cannot help Nigerians in Diaspora, are we saying our brothers should die because they have committed offences? That will not be responsible.
“These cases have become unbearable and we cannot close our eyes and go to sleep when Nigerians receive the worst treatment abroad. If we do not respect the dignity and lives of our own citizens, why should we expect any one else to”?
Keshi, who recently returned from Beijing, where he had led the Federal Government’s delegation to the China-Nigeria strategic dialogue, said the offences of those held in detention include overstay, drug trafficking, robbery and fraud.
The permanent secretary was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as saying that of the 732 Nigerians, 322 were in detention, 304 awaiting deportation and 106 serving various jail terms for drug trafficking, robbery and fraud.
| Posted: at 23-09-2009 04:12 AM (14 years ago) | Upcoming |
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