Thirteen Nigerians have been deported from Mozambique and returned to Lagos under circumstances their compatriots and Nigerian officials are describing as deeply unjust — with the deportees insisting they held valid documentation authorising their stay in the southern African country.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) confirmed the development in a statement issued on Friday by its Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Abdur-Rahman Balogun. The thirteen men, all adults, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, aboard South African Airways flight SA60, forming part of a larger group of 42 Nigerians who had been arrested in Mozambique.
Mozambican authorities cited irregular documentation as the basis for the deportations. However, the returnees contested this justification, presenting evidence that their residence documents were valid and in order at the time of their arrest and deportation. Only one individual among the group was acknowledged to have had an expired visa — and even then, it had lapsed merely a day before the deportation was carried out.
The deportees told officials they had been arrested at their various business premises in Maputo, the Mozambican capital, despite being in possession of documents lawfully permitting them to remain in the country.
Receiving the returnees on behalf of NiDCOM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the commission’s representative, Dipo Odebowale, said the men had not been accorded fair treatment by Mozambican authorities. He expressed confidence that Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs would take up the matter with his Mozambican counterpart through diplomatic channels.
Dabiri-Erewa, in her own response, expressed sympathy over the ordeal suffered by the deportees and welcomed them back to their homeland. While urging Nigerians living abroad to remain law-abiding and respectful of their host countries’ regulations, she firmly maintained that no Nigerian citizen should be subjected to punishment for offences they did not commit.
The returned men have appealed to NiDCOM to pursue justice and seek redress on their behalf. Their situation is further complicated by the fate of 29 other Nigerians who remain in detention in Maputo, with the deportees calling on Nigerian authorities to intervene urgently to secure their release.
Full list of the 42 Nigerians arrested in Mozambique:
Augustine Chukwuka Okeke, Maximus Anayo, Okechukwu Benjamin Eche, Anaerobi Ikenna Martins, Stephen Anayo Okongwe, Onwujewe Raymond, Chukwunazarom Donatus John, Aginam Chukwuenyem David, Collins Aderito Uzoewulu, Okonkwo Nnamdi Johnpaul, Onwunyili Lawrence Chukwuemeka, Ugochukwu Valentine Ezechiedum, Nnamdi Okechukwu, Celestine Okalu, Goodluck Chukwunyere Ephraim, Ebuka Amuh Pablo, Chukwuemeka Steven Ugwu, Cislouyindika Ifeanyi Ezeifeoma, Chinedu Daniel Igwilo, Ideh Samuel Ezinwa, Ogochukwu Michael Okonkwor, Okechukwu Christopher, Chinedu Okeke, Chukwuebuka Tobechukwu Oraka, Simon Nnaemeka, Onyeka Emmanuel Ufondo, Chidera Christopher, Nzube Kingsley Ebere, Ekene Samuel Nwana, Christian Emeka Muoka, Gerald Emeka Godwin, Ogu Inyang, Oluebubechukwu Victor Maduka, Onyedika Kingsley, Donatus Uchi, Chinecherem Alu, Emmanuel Anene Ugwu, Muoneke Mateus, Martin Tochukwu Mbakwe, Ikechukwu Nwali, Lotanna Okeke and Emeka Henry Ekenta.
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