Federal Government has demanded an unreserved apology from the
Indian authorities over the death of a Nigerian, Obodo Uzoma Simeon, and
discriminatory attacks on Nigerians in the Asian nation.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri,
disclosed this while answering questions from journalists at the
pre-Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting press briefing in Abuja, Monday.
Tensions between Nigerians and Indians had escalated since
Simeon was found dead in Goa, a popular tourist destination, in the country's
west region.
Simeon, according to reports, was stabbed to death on October
31 in Panaji, Goa State's capital.
About 200 angry members of the Nigerian community were said to
have blocked a highway while Simeon's corpse was being taken to the hospital
for a post-mortem examination.
Police reportedly brought the situation under control and
registered cases of rioting, arson and damaging public property against 51
Nigerians and one Ghanaian.
Onwuliri, who emphasised that Nigeria would not tolerate any
act of unruly behaviour from its citizens, however, said the conduct of Indian
authorities was unacceptable.
She told journalists that the Acting Head of Mission of India
in Nigeria had been summoned to her office to explain the rationale for the
action.
She said, "Actually the growing violence around the
countries should be a thing of worry for member states and for us in Nigeria
too. We have continued to condemn violence especially against Nigerians in
different states. The recent one in India is really a big one to worry about
and I had summoned the acting head of Indian Mission to ask him about what
happened to our citizens.
"The young man was coming back from lunch, they said
there was a clash between two communities, he was not part of them but he was
killed! We have also asked for unreserved apology from India, we have asked
them to ensure that full-fledged investigations are carried out so that
perpetrators of that act will be brought to book," she added.
The minister said the Nigerian government would not hesitate
to react appropriately if Nigerians were evicted from their homes in India.
"We have also heard that some of our citizens protested
and were arrested and some were evicted from their homes. And we have also said
while we are not supporting lawlessness, if Nigerians reacted because of
extreme provocation, it should be so seen. And these Nigerians should be
released and people should not be evicted from their homes, otherwise, that
will also lead to a strain in the relations between the two countries and we
will be forced to also react appropriately," she maintained.
Onwuliri said Nigeria was determined to press on with the call
for the abolition of visa regime among Commonwealth countries at this
year's meeting starting on Wednesday (tomorrow) in Colombo, Srilanka.
The country's interim position is for the introduction of a
pilot scheme which will facilitate visa free regime for holders of diplomatic
and official passports from member countries.
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