Murder sparks India-Nigeria diplomatic storm

Christian Nwaneli stood outside the Nigeria High Commission in New Delhi, India, waiting to settle a business dispute with his Indian business partner.
Nwaneli, a Nigerian, wanted the embassy to help him retrieve thousands of United States dollars his partner owed him.

But the Indian partner did not turn up. Instead, Nwaneli received a text message asking him to come to Gurgaon, 30 kilometres south of Delhi, for the money.

“I chose not to go for security reasons… I will never come back to India. It’s better to trade with the Chinese,” Nwaneli told Al Jazeera.

Tensions between Nigerians and Indians have escalated since a Nigerian, Obodo Uzoma Simeon, was found dead in Goa, a popular tourist destination, in the country’s west. Simeon was stabbed to death on October 31 in Panaji, Goa state’s capital.

Goa police were quick to lodge a murder case. However, the killing led to widespread protests by Nigerian expatriates, snowballing into a major law and order problem.

About 200 angry members of the community blocked a highway while the body was being taken for post-mortem examination.

The police brought the situation under control and registered cases of rioting, arson and destruction of public property against 51 Nigerians and a Ghanaian.

“Forty people have been arrested and a few others were detained for their involvement in rioting and other unlawful activities,” Kishan Kumar, director-general of Goa Police, told Al Jazeera.

“We are committed to serve people better and will allow no local or foreigner to take the law into their hands.”

For months, Goan police have been investigating suspected Nigerian links to drug gangs.

Last week, the Goa government submitted a report about Simeon’s murder to the Ministry of External Affairs, stating that he was killed because of “in-fighting between drug-related gangs,” and that a local, named Surender Por, had been arrested for murder.

There are only 50,000 Nigerians living in India, but there are over a million Indians living in Nigeria. Thousands of Indians living there will be thrown out on the streets if the forcible eviction of Nigerians in Goa does not stop, said Jacob Nwadibia, administrative attaché of the Nigerian High Commission in New Delhi.