Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Nigerian official slams 'highly discriminatory' treatment of citizen by SL authorities

2nd Lead 17.50 GMT

Nigeria's chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa slammed the treatment of a Nigerian man by Sri Lankan authorities at Colombo's airport as "highly discriminatory", after he was quarantined and deported by the authorities who suspected him and his family of being infected with the Ebola virus.

Condemning the stigmatisation of Nigerian nationals due to the Ebola epidemic in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, Dabiri-Erewa said it “must be addressed instantly before it spirals out of control.”

"Our citizens are mainly harassed and unfairly treated for the fact that they are Nigerians, and in some case sent back from the airport. This act is very predatory and must be checked immediately," she was quoted as saying by Nigeria's Daily Times newspaper.

Citing the example of a Nigerian national, Adeseye Adeyemi, who travelled to Sri Lanka to get married but his journey turned "to sadness," she added, "by the terrible treatment received from the Sri Lankan authorities.”

"[All family members] were quarantined in the airport lobby for about 18 hours with no access to food or water, not even toilet facilities were granted causing the children present to answer the call of nature in that state and the family ultimately deported [with no single medical check] after the prolonged wait," she said.

“This unfair treatment is for no other reason than the fact that these individuals are proud holders of the Nigerian passport. This sort of behavior is highly discriminatory and is a clear violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights."


Airport and Aviation Services officials deny mistreatment of Nigerian citizen

Officials at the Sri Lankan Airport and Aviation Services denied mistreating the Nigerian citizen whilst quarantining and deporting him, reports the Nation.lk.

When contacted by Sri Lankan press, officials said that they had no knowledge of an event occurring and would further investigate.

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.