The chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has appealed to the Cape Verde authorities to return detained Nigerian tourists to the country.
Speaking via a statement signed by the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, NiDCOM, Abuja, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the Commission disclosed that the detainees, on arrival at Cape Verde Island, were drawn out of line and accused of not having enough funds and their phones confiscated.
They were subsequently locked up in an immigration deportation camp at the airport.
The Commission urged Cape Verde to treat the detainees with respect, as reports had indicated that they were in distress, and one of them had a medical condition with no access to his drugs.
The statement reads in part, “The attention of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has been drawn to a case of six Nigerians tourists that travelled from Senegal to Cape Verde Island on a vacation, On arrival at Cape Verde, they were pulled out of the line. They were accused of not having enough funds and their phones confiscated. They were subsequently locked up in an immigration deportation camp at the airport.
“Reports from the immigration detention centre indicate that they are going through distress and trauma with one of them having a medical condition without access to his drugs.
“We appeal to the Immigration authorities in Cape Verde to please treat the tourists with respect and dignity and put them on the next immediate return flight to Dakar for onward connection back to Nigeria.
“The families of these young Nigerians ranging between 25 and 31 years have been expectedly worried about the safety of their children.
“The tourists are David James Udoh, Lily Dada, Oghenero Adaware, Sherifat Abimbola Ogundairo and Jesutomi Aina, and the travel agent / tourist company, ìrìn travels (@irintravels and (@theFARAWAY ).
“The matter has also been reported to the Consular and Migration directorate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
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