Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry summoned the Indian envoy following assaults on Nigerian nationals in Noida and asked that the culprits be prosecuted immediately.
Four Nigerian were severely beaten up in a neighbourhood in Greater Noida on Monday, after residents there suspected them of peddling drugs to a teenager who died of a drug overdose.
A foreign ministry official did not fail to mention that Monday’s savage beating of its nationals in India wasn’t the first time something like this happened.
“This is not the first time …Nigerians have suffered similar attack in the past so, what we will like to see on this occasion is that the perpetrator should be arrested,” said Olushola Enikanolaiye, permanent secretary, the ministry of foreign affairs, at a meeting in Abuja with Nagabushana Reddy, India’s high commissioner to Nigeria.
The Nigerian foreign ministry official said the incident was all the more shocking given the high level of friendship between India and Nigeria.
“It is…a concern to us that Nigerian students in that place were harassed, beaten up and many of them were seriously injured…We think this should not have happened considering the excellent relationship between two of us – the two countries have things in common and have been great friends,” he said.
The Indian government needs to ensure the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible for attacks, Enikanolaiye said, adding that it would serve as a deterrent to others and forestall future occurrences.”And we want to see diligent prosecution so that it would serve as a deterrent to those who think they can take laws into their hands and harass students who are going
“And we want to see diligent prosecution so that it would serve as a deterrent to those who think they can take laws into their hands and harass students who are going about their studies. That is why we felt we should register our concern to you on this occasion, and to please ask your government to take effective measures that this does not occur again.”
