Xenophobia: Nigerian union decries consulate’s inability to secure culprits’ prosecution

The President of Nigerian Union in South Africa, Adetola Olubajo, on Tuesday decried the inability of the nation’s Consulate office to secure the prosecution of culprits in the killings of Nigerians in South Africa.
Olubajo, who made lamented the development while speaking with newsmen in Ikeja, Lagos, said that over 127 Nigerians had been killed by South Africans from January 2016 to date.
According to him, in all the killings, there has not been one justice in favour of Nigerians.
He said: “There have been cases where Nigerians’ international passports have been torn by South African security agencies, without such cases being tackled by the Consulate.”
The NUSA president, however, called on the Federal Government to take the issue of welfare of those living in South Africa more serious, urging it to get to the bottom of the frequent killings.
He suggested that a legal office should be created in the Mission to handle cases involving Nigerians, noting that the Consulate had not done enough in that regard.
He said: “Efforts are not being made by the consulate to protect Nigerians; instead what they do is to tag our citizens as criminals without proper investigation.
“In most cases, government officials try to distort facts by preventing the Federal Government and Nigerians back home from knowing the exact things happening in South Africa.
“In the past, the Consul Generals did credibly to better the welfare of Nigerians living in South Africa. Then it was easy for us to have access to the Consulate office and Mission.
“They always speak out whenever Nigerians are killed or in any other issues concerning us. This was how things were done then.’’
He noted that some of the killings were carried out by security agencies and frustrated South African youths, adding that some Nigerians were equally involved in the killings of their compatriots.
Olubajo also faulted the Consulate’s inability to put in place a mechanism for the registration of Nigerians in the foreign land.
We, the union have a register where we ask Nigerians to document themselves.
The union commended the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for his genuine efforts in ensuring that the sufferings of Nigerians were looked into with the establishment of the Early Warning Unit.