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Nigerian govt condemns torture of diplomat by Indonesian officials, summons Ambassador
OBINNA EZUGWU
The Nigerian government has condemned, strongly, the manhandling its diplomat by some law enforcement officials in Jakarta, Indonesia.
An official of the Nigerian High Commission and Consulate in Indonesia identified simply as Ibrahim, was on Saturday, tortured by some law enforcement officials after he reportedly told them that he was working as an officer of the Nigerian High Commission in the country.
The incident happened in front of his official quarters.
It was learnt that his Identification card and passport were not with him at the time of the incident, captured in a now viral video, in which Ibrahim was tightly held on the throat in a way suggesting that they wanted to suffocate him, while he screamed that he couldn’t breathe.
Reacting to the the incident in a statement on Monday, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the incident is against international law, and that it has complained strongly to the Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in receipt of a report and has seen a video in circulation regarding an unacceptable incident in Jakarta, Indonesia, concerning the manhandling and arrest of a Nigerian Diplomatic Agent in front of his official quarters on 7, August, 2021,” the statement said.
“This unfortunate incident is against international law and the Vienna Conventions governing Diplomatic and Consular Relations between States.
“The Nigerian Government has complained strongly to the Government of Indonesia and the Ambassador of Indonesia to Nigeria was summoned by the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“The Ambassador explained what he understood happened and apologized unreservedly on behalf of the Government of Indonesia. The Nigeria Government has sent an official protest to the Government of Indonesia.
“The Ambassador of Nigeria has confirmed that the immigration officials involved had since come to the Nigerian Embassy to apologize to the Ambassador and the diplomat concerned.”