“We Have Been Illegally Imprisoned In India For Over TWO Years!” – Four Nigerians Lament

Over 15,000 Nigerians are detained in prisons abroad, according to the latest report by Mr. Abdulazeez Dankano, the Director, Consular and Immigration Services, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And these are just the official figures, meaning that there probably are thousands of other fellow Nigerians who suffered a fate similar to the one described in the letter by our readers.

Although we can neither verify nor deny the story, we are inclined to believe it might be true. Our readers who prefer to stay anonymous have been improsoned in India for over two years, and the living conditions are truly horrible. Read the full text of the message below:

Four Nigerians have been in illegal detention in Tamil Nadu, India, for over 2 years now.

We were falsefully accused of a crime and sent to prison. We submitted our international passports along with 2 local sureties as bail conditions after spending almost 5 months in prison as under trial.

After we came out of prison on 24th April 2012, the local police arrested us again and took us to the special refugee camp for Sri Lanka and detained us there in accordance with 32e order of foreigners act 1946 governed by the Central government of India, which is not meant for any Commonwealth nations.

The Indian camp where the four Nigerians are being unlawfully kept. The story continues below

We challenged the order along with the assistance of the embassy and the Madras High Directs the Government to release us from the camp to be with our family and friends in the city, and till the case has been disposed off, that was since April 2013.

Despite the Undertaking letter given to the Government by the Nigeria embassy in New Delhi, we are still yet to be released from this camp.

We have not been going to any court, since being detained at the special camp. All because they can not prove that we commited the crime.

Despite the international law that says no one should be deprived of his freedom! Why has Tamil Nadu government been denying us the freedom the Court gave us, as we are all been governed under the International law?

The Tamil Nadu police are just been wicked and torturing Nigerians for nothing, all just because they are Nigerians. Is this how Nigeria has beeen treating Indians, despite all atrocities they are committing on Nigeria Soil. This is total RACISM!

The camp is full of dangerous reptiles and insects, among other things. The conditions are unhygienic. We have been subjected to mental tortures, and also putting our wives’ and children into suffering and pains. The wife to one of us gave birth while he was been detained illegally, and hadn’t seen his wife and kid till date. And the police knows quite well his wife was pregnant. Is this not a cruel act?

This is total wickedness and violation of fundermental human rights at the highest level, keeping someone in a camp for 2 years! And why is Tamil Nadu state not respecting Nigeria Government the same way Nigeria respect India government? They disrespect the ambassador who came all the way from Delhi to Tamil Nadu about 6 months ago. This has to stop. Tamil Nadu should stop imposing illegal order on Nigerians. Its just total hatred for Nigerians. Once the Tamil Nadu see anyone as a Nigerian, they just want to put the Nigerian into problem and suffer him. That’s not fair, despite how much we treat Indians in Nigeria. They see all Nigerians as criminals, be you student or whatsoever.

We want Nigerians to help us out of this illegal detention. We need the intervention of the entire Nigeria to come to our aid. Attached are the pix of the camp in Tamil Nadu , India. We all have valid passports and visas qnd residential permit to stay as students as of time of arrest.

We can be reached on +918754396758 for verification of the incident. Please, we are appealing to the Nigeria Federal Government to come to our aid.