The Federal Government has concluded arrangements to return two Nigerians trapped in a refugee camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina today December 13, following series of diplomatic interventions from the Nigerian Mission in Hungary and Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.
The Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NIDCOM) Abike Dabiri-Erewa gave this assurance in a statement issued on Friday by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Head Media and Public Relations Unit of NIDCOM. She noted that the two Nigerians in Bosnia Camps are hale and hearty and are expected to return to Croatia anytime from today Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, preparatory to come back to Nigeria.
This was sequel to series of diplomatic interventions from the Nigerian Mission in Hungary and Geoffrey Onyema, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who directed for full investigations to be carried out.
It w be recalled that two students of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Abia Alexandro Uchenna and Eboh Kenneth Chinedu, who attended an international table tennis competition in Croatia, ended up in a Bosnian refugee camp.
The NIDCOM boss said arrangements have been concluded to send the two Nigerians back to Croatia anytime from today, Friday, December 13, 2019, adding that the Nigerian Mission in Hungary has taken steps to ensure that the matter is resolved and the welfare of the two Nigerians protected.
She said that five of them went for the table tennis event without the knowledge of the Nigerian Table Tennis Federation, two returned over two weeks ago, three of them stayed back while one already applied for asylum.
Although the Croatian Authorities through Nigeria’s Ambassador in Budapest denied the allegation involving maltreatment by the Croatian Police, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has demanded a full investigation into the matter.
She said the conditions attached to their release include the usage of their return tickets from Zagreb, Croatia back to Nigeria and must not seek Asylum in Croatia, just as one of them did already.
Dabiri-Erewa appealed to Nigerians to always inform relevant authorities whenever they go on such trips outside the country and be of good behaviour.
According to a report, Abia Alexandro Uchenna, Eboh Kenneth Chinedu, and three other students arrived in Zagreb, capital of Croatia, on November 12, for the fifth world inter-university championships held in the country.
They were allegedly arrested while taking a walk around the country’s capital on November 18 as they couldn’t produce relevant documents to the police.
The police officers were reported to have transferred the students to the country’s Bosnia-Herzegovina border, where Croatian authorities had gathered a group of illegal migrants attempting to cross into the country, the statement said.
