HURIWA Condemns Harassment Of Nigerian Diplomat In Indonesia

THE Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has condemned the harassment of a Nigerian diplomat by Indonesian immigration officers.

The association described it as the highest level of embarrassment to the global image of Nigeria, adding that the response by the Minister of Foreign Affairs was insufficient and a slap on the faces of Nigerians.

HURIWA said, “First and foremost, we view the embarrassing and physical dehumanisation of the Nigerian unnamed diplomat in Indonesia as not just a breach of the Vienna Convention on the treatment of diplomats by the receiving nation.

“This particular case which is neither the first or will it be the last in this dispensation of President Muhammadu Buhari is emblematic of the horrendous human rights abuses of Nigerian citizens by the Nigerian government which have now conveyed the impression to the rest of the World.

“Since the Nigerian government lacks the obligatory sensitive, rational and responsible treatment of her citizens in compliance with a plethora of local and international Human Rights laws, the rest of the World is now without any modicum of respect for Nigerians irrespective of their status as commoners or diplomats.”

The association noted that there was a similar incident in China a few months back, but it was hidden and not made known to the public.

The National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, in a statement urged the Federal Government to file a report before the United Nations General Assembly.