Deportees narrate ordeals •We’re neither involved nor informed –Nigerian Ambassado
For Nigerians resident in Kenya, these are the worst of times. Their
plight could be compared to the era of slave trade when able-bodied
Africans could not tell what the next minute held for them because human
traffickers could pick them up the next minute.
Checks revealed that in recent times, Nigerians have become victims
of undeserved humiliation and deportation in President Barrack Obama’s
country of origin.
It was gathered that due to the uproar that followed a recent
publication by Sunday Sun in which one of the deportees, Anthony
Chinedu, recounted his sad experiences in the hands of Kenyan security
personnel, the government of the East African country swiftly changed
its strategy. According to latest deportees, the Kenyan security agents
have resorted to bugging telephone conversations of Nigerians, and once
the name or language sounds Nigerian, they would trace the person and
get him arrested.
They stated that Nigerian citizens, especially those engaged in
legitimate businesses in that country live literally with their hearts
on their palms, hiding from place to place for fear of being picked up
and bundled back home empty handed.
It was alleged that part of the grouse that the Kenyan President and
his deputy have against Nigerian citizens was that Nigerians gave
massive support to his rival in the country’s recent presidential
election and that a Nigerian is in charge of the deputy president’s case
at the International Criminal Court.
Jet used to deport Anthony Chinedu still at MMA
Checks by Sunday Sun indicated that, as at press time, the jet
(5Y-SAX) used to deport Anthony Chinedu last week, was still being
detained at the cargo wing of the of Murtala Muhammed International
Airport in Lagos. Unconfirmed sources from Kenya said the jet belonged
to Hon William Ruto, the Kenyan Vice President. It was gathered that the
jet’s voyage into the Nigerian airspace was not properly and officially
documented, a situation that suggested that it might not have followed
due process.
President orders mass arrest and deportation
A tacit official confirmation that Kenya-based Nigerians were really
in for hard times, came last Monday, when that country’s president,
Uhuru Kenyatta, in a public function, gave his nod to mass deportation
of Nigerians. While declaring open the 2nd National Conference on
Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) in Nairobi, on June 11, 2013, he ordered
the security agencies to fish out, arrest and deport all foreigners
suspected to engage in drug trafficking in Kenya. Sunday Sun monitored
the reportage of the presidential order that was relayed in Kenyan radio
and TV stations including NTV, Capital FM and Ghetto Radio- 89.5FM, as
well as some tabloids the next day. Some of their headlines read:
“Deport all suspected drug dealers”, “Police to arrest, deport all
foreigners suspected of engaging in drug”, and “Deport all suspected
foreign drug dealers”. It was gathered that since that official
directive, several Nigerians have been secretly deported.
Many Nigerian citizens in that country saw the presidential order as
an official permission to Kenyans to tag any face they do not like, as
“suspected” drug dealer. One of them who mailed Sunday Sun stated that,
“since all it takes to throw a foreigner out of Kenya is mere suspicion,
landlords, debtors and anybody who doesn’t like your face only needs to
call in the police and brand you a suspect.”
One of the victims who identified himself simply as Joe, spoke to
Sunday Sun upon his arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International
Airport, on Monday. Like Chinedu, he is also an indigene of Anambra
state. Narrating his experiences in the hands of the Kenyan police, he
stated that he was picked up Sunday night and told to choose either to
die slowly in their (security men) hands or silent deportation.
“I asked them what they meant by going home silently and they said
they would just buy a normal air ticket for me, so I could return to
Nigeria like other normal travelers, and I chose the latter,” he said.
Joe said he learnt later, that the security agents adopted the
strategy because the Nigerian High Commission in Kenya had lodged
official complaint to the authorities about the deportation of Nigerian
citizens without its knowledge. About a dozen Nigerian citizens resident
in Kenya who reacted to Sunday Sun interview with Anthony Chinedu also
confirmed that Nigerians were still being recklessly arrested and
detained. They also confirmed Joe’s allegation of silent deportation.
Another deportee, Mr Paul Owoseni, an indigene of Ondo state, told a
pathetic story. He told Sunday Sun while on his way to his village that
he did not know his offence.
Hear him: “Many Nigerians are still detained there, as we speak,
awaiting deportation. Till now, I don’t know what offence I committed
that warranted this inhuman treatment. Their security agents just go on
the streets of Kenya, picking up anyone they identify as a Nigerian and
tag him a drug dealer. I was doing my legitimate business in that
country; I did not sale, take or keep drugs, and nobody has ever seen me
with any narcotic substance. They picked me up on Monday (June 3), and
detained me till Thursday, before bundling about ten of us into the
plane. We were not allowed to take even a pin. They told us while in
detention, that they wanted all Nigerians out of their country, not
minding whether we were doing legitimate business or not. They also said
that they did not want to get rid of us through court process.
Tracking method
“The moment you call a friend and the security agents noticed it is a
Nigerian name you called, they would track both of you and get you
arrested. They also intercept calls, and once they notice that you
sounded Nigerian, they would trace you and get you arrested
immediately.”
Owoseni told Sunday Sun that while in Kenya, he was into importation
of human hairs that he also supplied to Uganda and Tanzania, and he had
just stocked his shop. Oseni alleged that the security agents broke his
gate while he was away on the day they came to arrest him, at about 5pm,
and waited for him.
“They even arrested a friend that was in my company at that time. I
will not mention his name because he is among those in detention in
Kenya.”
Kenyan wife works with Kenyan army
Owoseni who arrived in Nigeria with nothing, told Sunday Sun that
like many other Nigerians, he was married to a Kenyan and they had a
child, Micheal. He stated that his Kenyan wife, Damaris, who works for
the Kenyan army, was still at work when he was arrested, and they did
not allow him to communicate with her before he was deported. Like the
other deportees, he urged that the Nigerian government should not let
all their struggles in Kenya to be in vain.
Another Deportee speaks
Also forced out of Kenya, was Oluwatosin Adebiyi, an indigene of Oyo
State, who was arrested at midnight and taken away in his nightclothes.
“They stormed my house at midnight and arrested me. They were about 40
armed men, and before I was taken away, they ransacked the house and
took away all handy valuables including my $20,000 cash, five phones and
three ipads belonging to me and my wife. My duplex, two cars and other
valuables in the house are worth over N60 million. “The most annoying
part was that they rendered me incommunicado, disallowed me from
communicating with my Kenyan wife and children. They did not give me any
option while in detention.”
They jumped into my compound around 1 a.m. –Daniel
Another deportee, Mr Daniel, narrated his ordeal in Kenya. “On Sunday
night (June 2), about 15 policemen who were armed to the teeth, came to
my house. They actually scaled the fence like criminals, around 1 a.m.,
and ordered me to open my door. Initially, I thought they were armed
robbers.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Pleas Send Us Your comment To serve you better