The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, has called on Mozambican authorities to provide official reasons for the detention of 42 Nigerians reportedly arrested in the country, insisting that due process must be followed.
This follows claims by the National Criminal Investigation Service of Mozambique, SERNIC, that the individuals were detained for allegedly staying in the country illegally.
However, NIDCOM said the claim has not been officially confirmed, adding that even the Nigerian High Commission has yet to receive formal notification of the arrests.
In a statement issued by the Commission’s spokesman, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the Chairman of NIDCOM, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, expressed concern over the situation, noting that families of the detained Nigerians have been reaching out in distress.
“Their families have been calling us with distress messages and are deeply worried about the condition of their spouses and loved ones,” Dabiri-Erewa said.
She added that reports from the detainees indicated that their mobile phones, personal belongings, and money were confiscated at the time of their arrest.
According to her, the Nigerian High Commission has already written to Mozambique’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Office of the Attorney-General, seeking clarification on the circumstances surrounding the arrests and the status of the detainees.
Dabiri-Erewa stressed that if the Nigerians had committed any offence, the authorities should formally charge them to court and make the allegations public, rather than detaining them without due process.
“If indeed they have committed any offence, they should be formally charged to court and the offence made public, or they should be released,” she said.
She reiterated that the Nigerian government does not condone criminal acts by its citizens anywhere in the world but maintained that no Nigerian should be subjected to unlawful detention or punished for offences they neither committed nor understand.
The commission urged Mozambican authorities to ensure that the rights of the detained Nigerians are protected in accordance with international law and diplomatic protocols.
