The federal government has demanded a thorough investigation into the death of a Nigerian citizen during a police operation in South Africa.
Over the weekend, videos emerged of South African police
offers assaulting a Nigerian man who was heard pleading his innocence over an
unclear matter.
The police officers used what appeared to be a polyethylene
bag to seemingly strangle the Nigerian several times.
According to the Nigerian consulate general in Johannesburg,
the incident occurred on July 23 in Bellville, Cape Town.
The mission identified the Nigerian as Ibeh Chika Simon.
In a statement signed Saturday, Ninikanwa Okey-Uche,
consul-general, said the consulate strongly condemned Simon’s death, especially
as it happened after another Nigerian was shot.
“We are deeply appalled by reports of the egregious police
tactics that led to his death, as well as the shooting of another Nigerian,
EGWABOR PATRICK CHUKS, who remains under treatment with severe injuries,” the
statement reads.
“This tragic event highlights an alarming pattern of
unresolved extrajudicial killings/deaths and unacceptable misconduct against
foreign nationals.
“Amid rising afrophobic sentiment, such actions reveal a
troubling disregard for the fundamental rights to life, dignity, and due
process guaranteed by South African law to all human beings.
“We demand an immediate, transparent, and unsparing
investigation by South African authorities. Perpetrators must be held
accountable.”
The consulate general noted that no alleged offence
justifies execution-style enforcement or unacceptable operational techniques.
“Suspects are entitled to due process in a court of law; no
authority should be above it,” the statement added.
This brings the total number of officially reported deaths
of Nigerians in South Africa to five, though some repatriated citizens have
alleged that the figures are higher.
Just last month, the foreign ministry announced the death of
two Nigerians in South Africa in the wake of tensions over African migrants in
the former apartheid country.
Nigeria has called for “Afrophobia” to be on the agenda of
the next African Union (AU) summit following the recent xenophobic crisis in
South Africa.
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