The number of Nigerians Killed in South Africa in 2016 was 20 taking the number to 116 the Nigerians killed in two years, just as Germany is planning to deport 12,000 Nigerians.
Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora said 20 Nigerians were killed in South Africa in 2016 without justification.
The presidential aide who expressed Nigeria’s concern over spate of extra-judicial killings of Nigerians revealed this when she visited the South African Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Lulu Aaron- Mnguni on Tuesday.
She therefore appealed to authorities in that country to ensure that justice was done by speedily dispensing pending cases. She especially demanded that justice must be done in the case of a Nigerian killed last December to serve as deterrent to others.
Tochukwu Nnadi, a 34-year-old business man was killed by South African police on Dec. 29, 2016.
“We are worried in particular about the criminalization of Nigerian migrants in South Africa. Yes, some do commit crimes and deserve to be punished, but the extra-judicial killings worry us a lot.
“We also want to appeal to Nigerians wherever they are to obey the laws of the land. We are worried as well, about extra-judicial killings anywhere in the world.”
She said Nigeria has so far lost 116 persons to such killings in South Africa while expressing hope that relationship between both countries remained strong and better and distractions avoided.
The South African Ambassador said the killings would be investigated and those involved would be punished. He said “South Africa has high level of technology to know how a person dies.” According to him, pathologists and the police will fish out the truth and those found guilty will be sentenced.
The likely deportation of Nigerians from Germany was disclosed by the country’s global head of programme, migration and development, Ralf Sanftenberg, during a visit to Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
According to him, “We have over 37,000 Nigerians in Germany and more than 12,000 of them are asylum seekers.There is a little chance for their applications to be moved and they may be forced to come back to Nigeria next year.”
Sanftenberg, who is the leader of delegation from the German ministry of economic cooperation and development, said he was on a site assessment mission for Nigerians who are voluntarily returning to the country.
He said 99 per cent of the asylum seekers would likely be denied asylum status because Nigeria is not among war countries and added that asylum seekers willing to return to Nigeria voluntarily will not be forced back or deported but would be assisted through a support programme organized by Germany.
