The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has called on Mozambican authorities to provide official reasons for the detention of 42 Nigerian citizens, amid reports that the detainees’ families remain in distress over their welfare.
Abdur-Rahman Balogun, NIDCOM’s Director of Media, Public Relations, and Protocols, in a release,said that the Mozambican National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) has yet to confirm the reasons for the arrests, and the Nigerian High Commission in Mozambique has not received any official notification regarding the matter.
NIDCOM Chairman and CEO, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, noted that families have been reaching out with distress calls, expressing concern about the conditions of their spouses. She added that the detainees’ personal belongings, including cell phones and money, were confiscated at the time of arrest.
“The Embassy has written to their Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the office of the Attorney General,” Dabiri-Erewa stated.
She emphasized that if any of the Nigerians have committed an offence, authorities should formally charge them in court, make the offence public, or release them, rather than detaining them without explanation.
Dabiri-Erewa stressed that while the Nigerian government does not condone any criminal activity by its citizens abroad, no Nigerian should suffer for an offence they did not commit or of which they are unaware.
