Politics
Nigeria recalls ambassador to Indonesia over assault on diplomat
Nigeria has recalled Ambassador to Indonesia, Usman Ogah as the relationship between both countries grew sour over the assault of a Nigerian diplomat by immigration officials in Jakarta, the Asian country’s capital.
A video of Indonesian officials torturing a Nigerian diplomat identified as Ibrahim had gone viral over the weekend, prompting Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama to summon the Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria on Tuesday.
The assaulted diplomat, who was apparently in pain while the Indonesian immigration officers pinned his head to the seat of a car was heard shouting “I can’t breathe”, “my neck”.
Following the ugly incident, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, announced Ogar’s recall to give a detailed account of the assault, which has sparked outrage.
The Federal Government also threatened to review its relationship with Indonesia if it fails to bring the Indonesian immigration officials that assaulted the Nigerian diplomat to book.
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Onyeama said, “There was absolutely no justification whatsoever for this kind of behaviour against not only a Nigerian diplomat but any Nigerian at all. It was totally unacceptable.
“What we’ve decided to do is to recall (for consultations immediately), our Nigerian ambassador in Jakarta in Indonesia and we will have full consultations at the highest level and decide what next steps to take including a review of our relations with Indonesia”.
This comes after an earlier statement on Monday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemning the assault.
In the statement, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria had apologised and that the immigration officials involved had also visited the Nigerian Embassy in Indonesia to apologise to the diplomat.
However, Onyeama maintained that the Federal Government wanted the Indonesian Government to take stronger action by sanctioning the officials, stressing that failure to do so will have consequences for the relationship between both countries.
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