Few weeks after the abuse of a Nigerian diplomat in Indonesia ignited a diplomatic row between the countries, Nigerians are facing yet another abuse, this time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Apart from harassment of Nigerian diplomats in the Central African country, the Nigerian embassy in the country’s capital city, Kinshasa, was burgled by a diplomatic police officer that was deployed to the Mission.
Also, a Nigerian diplomatic property in the choice area of Gombe, Kinshasa DR Congo was illegally seized.
The burgling of the embassy and the illegitimate seizure of the diplomatic property were perpetrated by officials of DR Congo, even as the host government seem unbothered by the atrocities.
According to a source in the embassy, every attempt by the Nigerian Ambassador to DR Congo, Ambassador (Engr) Omar Suleiman, to reach out to authorities of the host country so they could investigate the vandalization of the embassy and return the seized property have been ignored by the government of that country.
The source said: “In March 2020, there was an attempt to set the Ambassador’s residence ablaze in the middle of the night. The culprit was apprehended and handed over to the police, but to date, nothing has come out from the police concerning the young man that was arrested or the event.
“On 17th August 2020, the embassy was burgled by one Ilunga Ndaye, a policeman deployed to guard the chancery. He was apprehended and handed over to the police; on his arrival at the police station, he was freed by the police. The authorities claimed that he escaped and to date, nothing has been said about him or the incident.
“On 24th August 2020, one Congolese named Kadija Bakaja, accompanied by armed policemen, invaded 38/40 Avenue Lemera in Gombe, Kinshasa DR Congo. With the active connivance of the government of DR Congo, she illegally took over the property which is duly owned by Nigeria till this moment—one year after the invasion of the Nigerian property and the denigration of our sovereign integrity without any form of a legal right of occupation.
“Until date, the DR Congo government has neither returned the property they took over illegally nor taken steps to assure the Mission that its properties in the country are safe from any future harassments and invasions. It is important to note that if immediate action is therefore not taken at this time, the Nigerian government stands to lose another of its property to another Congolese.
“We have been facing a lot of harassment and difficulties in performing our tasks here. It is exactly one year since the embassy was burgled on 17th August 2021 by officials of DR Congo. It is also one year since some land grabbers who have the official backing of the government of the host country invaded one of our diplomatic facilities in Gombe, Kinshasa DR Congo.
“There was also threat to the life of our then Head of Mission Amb. Charles Nkem Ibim and the Consular Officer, Mr Kareem, by the land grabbers for daring to stop them. Interestingly, the government of DR Congo has not deemed it fit to investigate any of these atrocities. Maybe they are waiting for another Jakarta episode in the DRC?” another official, who does not want his name in print for fear of reprisal by the host country.
“This disrespect and lack of courtesy has also been extended to Nigerians and Nigerian businesses in the DRC, where many innocent Nigerians are facing similar embarrassments from some government agencies.
“Furthermore, the Nigerian ambassador to the DR Congo has done all within his diplomatic powers to recover the seized property and have the culprits prosecuted, yet all efforts so far, have proven abortive. The Federal Government will need to come to our aid immediately.”
