- Ekweremadu’s Attack: German Government Deports Nigerians
Less than 48 hours after the attack on Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the German Government has reportedly deported some Nigerians.
Reports has it that the deportation was an addition to two sets of migrants that were earlier repatriated from the country in July, last month.
In an interview with The Nation, Rex Osas, Coordination Activist for Network Refugees; a political platform for refugees and migrants in Germany, revealed that the migrants, who were selected at random from different refugee centers in Germany are expected to arrive in the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Nigeria between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m, having left Germany’s Frankfurt Airport.
He said, “The flight will be from Frankfurt on Monday. For those who have been given the information, the plane will take off by 8 a.m. and arrive in Nigeria between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
“Those who will be deported will be picked randomly from their different accommodation centres from 3 a.m. till 5 a.m. in different regions and conveyed to a central place and finally to Frankfurt Airport,”
He added that “When their asylum application is already expired, they are obligated to leave the country.
“For those who don’t leave voluntarily, they will be given a what is I can translate in English to mean toleration status. This status is not a resident title; it is to show that the person is still there because the deportation is hindered because of one reason or the other.
“These people are picked up early in the morning without expecting the police.
“Some would be picked up from work also. When the police arrive in their rooms, they would be allowed to pack things not more than say 64 kilos. The police will be standing to make sure the person does not escape.”
Osas urged the Nigerian Government to make arrangements to assist the deportees as they are coming back to Nigeria with a lot of problems.
“Among these people are many sick people. Nigeria should be expecting a lot of people who have psychological problems, and people with spinal cord problems leading to paralysis.”
It should be recalled that the IPOB had announced their next targets to be disgraced for taking side with the Nigerian government, listing four South-Eastern State governors with Nnamdi Kanu, the supreme leader of the group, placing a bounty of N1 million on the governors.
The whole attack and the media outcry that trailed it may have prompted German government decision to quickly repatriate undocumented Nigerians in order to avoid further embarrassment.
