FG warns Ghana and Togo to stop attacking Nigerians

The Federal Government has issued a warning to Ghana and Togo to stop attacking Nigerians in their countries.

The Chairman of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa disclosed this on Sunday, June 23, 2019, in Abuja while addressing journalists after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Dabiri-Erewa said the warning became necessary following the recent attack on Nigerians in the countries.

She also urged foreign countries to protect Nigerians the same way Nigeria protect their nationals.

She said, “Right now, we are dealing with the issue of attacking Nigerian traders in Ghana. We have the assurances of the President of Ghana through the high commission here and ours in Ghana that Nigerian traders will be protected.”

“So we are also going to be emphasizing that the life of one Nigerian means a lot to us anywhere in the world.

“Of course we have the issue of Ghana, the professor whose appointment was terminated by his university because of the tape he released. Well, it turned out that he didn’t actually record, I mean that was a private meeting with Nigerians in Ghana, it was like a private discussion.

“And he also claimed that part of the tape was actually doctored. The matter is being looked into by the Nigeria high commission in Ghana and I believed those matters will be resolved subsequently.”

Dabiri-Erewa also said the Togolese government has been contacted on the attack on Nigerians in the country.

“And the issues happening around neighbouring countries like Togo. In Togo, we have Nigerians attacked”.

“We have also seen the Togolese ambassador and made it clear that the lives of Nigerians must be protected anywhere they are because we take care of others here and we deserve to be taken care of.

“If a Nigerian commits a crime, let him pay the penalty for it as a punishment, but you cannot penalise a nation and its citizens.

“So we will be working more on that as we appealed to Nigerians to be good ambassadors wherever they find themselves,” she said.

Recently, the Federal Government asked its Ghanaian counterpart to protect Nigerians living in Ghana following xenophobic attacks against some Nigerian traders in the country.

Dabiri-Erewa made the demand when she visited Rasheed Bawa, the High Commissioner of Ghana to Nigeria, at the Ghanaian High Commission in Abuja, on Thursday, June 20, 2019.