Metro
‘XENOPHOBIA: Okah, Nigerian prisoners tortured in South Africa’
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has alleged that its leader, Henry Okah and other Nigerians in South African jails are also victims of xenophobic attacks, even while in prison.
The group in a statement on Saturday signed by Jomo Gbomo, alleged that the Nigerians are regularly singled out for harassment, on account of their nationality or placed in solitary confinement, by the South African prison officials.
It lamented that Okah is dying at the Korkstad Prison in the Kwa-Zulu Natai Province of South Africa, where he has been locked up in solitary confinement due to xenophobis.
MEND therefore affirmed support for the National Assembly’s decision to visit that country and engage its parliament on the attacks on Nigerians resident there.
The statement read in part, “We welcome the decision of both houses of parliament to send delegations to visit South Africa to assess the situation on the ground.
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“While we commiserate with the thousands of Nigerians who may have suffered one form of attack or the other, we are constrained to draw the attention of the National Assembly delegation to other variants of xenophobic attacks which are not in the public domain.
“There are hundreds of Nigerians in South Africa, who are serving various prison sentences or awaiting trial. From reports available to us, many of these unfortunate Nigerians are subjected to xenophobic attacks, as they were regularly singled out for harassment, on account of their nationality or arbitrarily isolated in solitary confinement, by the South African prison officials.
“Henry Emomotimi Okah is a Nigerian, who is currently serving term at Korkstad Prison in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province of South Africa. The accounts of a few individuals who have been privileged to visit him in prison are gory and unsavoury.
“He is permanently locked up in solitary confinement; a Korkstad Prison policy, which is based purely on xenophobia and jungle justice. The grim reality is that Henry Okah and many of his fellow compatriots in South African prisons are dying in prison.
“We therefore call on the Nigerian parliamentary delegation to find time to also visit various prison facilities in South Africa where they will indeed, be confronted with the real victims of xenophobia in South Africa”, MEND said.
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Animashaun Ayodeji
March 5, 2017 at 10:32 am
Residing in South Africa is not by force. Nigerians should stop flying to the country, our l country is better off, they should all return home instead of facing xenophobic attacks often.
Joy Madu
March 6, 2017 at 12:35 am
And you think is that easy to return without showing for it. The South Africa think they are winning now but when Nigerians will attack them with full force they will all bow. Knowing that keeping quite doesn’t mean Nigeria don’t know their right
Margret Dickson
March 5, 2017 at 10:35 am
Nigerians are among the best people with good hearts in the world, it’s just sad our people residing abroad do face one form of hate or the other. We don’t deserve most of these hatreds, Nigerians embrace and accommodate foreigners, we allow them set up businesses and also help them grow, but we don’t get the same good treatment in return.
seyi jelili
March 5, 2017 at 11:33 am
Xenophobia of South Africa is hinged on their historical origin and once in a while it will always showcase. May be they want to be expelled from the United Nations again.
JOHNSON PETER
March 5, 2017 at 12:15 pm
MTN, Dstv, shoprite are leaving this country soonest because we the Niger Delta militants are working on that assiduously. Enough of entertaining these South Africa firms.
Balarabe musa
March 5, 2017 at 12:50 pm
Consider the consequences of them leaving as many youths will become unemployed. That’s not a good solution to the crisis.