Fifty two Nigerians have been arrested and many others are being hunted down in the Indian coastal town of Goa.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, said the Acting Indian High Commissioner has been summoned by the Federal Government and complaint lodged with the Indian government. She was speaking while answering questions from journalists at the Pre-Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting press briefing in Abuja on Monday.
Onwuliri said Nigeria will not tolerate the mistreatment of her citizens anywhere in the world and pointedly said that the actions of Indian security agencies over the matter are unacceptable given the cordial relations between the two countries.
She said, “Actually the growing violence around the countries should be a thing of worry for member states and for us in Nigeria too. We have continued to condemn violence especially against Nigerians in different states. The recent one in India is really a big one to worry about and I have summoned the acting head of Indian Mission to admonish him on what had happened to our citizens.
“The young man was coming back from lunch. They said there was a clash between two communities, he was not part of them but he went in for it! We have also asked for unreserved apology from India. We have asked them to ensure that full-fledged investigations are carried out so that perpetrators of that act will be brought to book.”
Indian news reports had it that Simeon was stabbed to death on October 31 in Panaji, capital of Goa. While locals claim that the deceased was involved in drugs, Nigerians in the city say he was killed by the locals over a minor dispute.
About 150 Nigerians protested the death by blocking a major highway in Goa and even attacking the police and disrupting public activities.
This led to an outcry in India over what they called the excesses of the Nigerians whom the locals say do not have any known means of income but enjoy some of the best luxuries in the city..
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