Some Nigerians in South Africa have asked the Nigerian Government to intervene in what they describe as “increasing deaths” at the hands of the police.
Following very closely to an alleged police killing in Cape Town recently, another Nigerian, Kingsley Ikeri, has been allegedly killed in Vryheid town of Kwazulu Natal province.
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Aggrieved Nigerians living in South Africa alleged that the 36-year-old who died on August 30 was tortured and suffocated to death by the police.
The friend of the deceased, Emeka Okoye, who claimed they were arrested together, told Channels Television that he survived the same ordeal.
He said, “Police arrested two of us and in the process, they took me to my house where they put a plastic on my face for over one hour thirty minutes (with my hands and legs handcuffed).”
“Afterwards, they took me back to the station and took the guy (Ikeri) away; that’s what I witnessed. I nearly died that day because I’ve never experienced such in my life. Even right now, there is blood stain in my sputum when I cough,” Okoye claimed.
The Minister (Immigration and Consular), Nigerian Consulate, Mr Anthony Ogbe, lamented that efforts made so far had been futile as they were yet to see the government make any move to address the issues.
“Unfortunately, the previous interventions that we made appeared not to have yielded any dividends because we have not seen any of the cases prosecuted, let alone anybody convicted.
“We are appalled by this. Notwithstanding, we will continue to do what we need to do and that is to continue to engage the South African authorities,” Ogbe said.
However, spokesperson for the South African Police is yet to respond to the allegation.
On the other hand, a South African based Nigerian lawyer, Omo Ogboro, said he has begun the process of dusting up the numerous inquest dockets of Nigerians unlawfully killed in the country.
Ogboro, who says he is representing a Nigerian interest group called Concerned Nigerians, revealed this during an interview with Channels Television in Pretoria.
He is hopeful that those affected would get justice, adding that the Nigerian Government will also do much more to bring the incidents to a stop.
