Nigeria warns Ghana to stop attacking its citizens

The Nigerian government has warned that there could be dire consequences if its citizens in Ghana are ill-treated.

The Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said Nigerians in other African states deserve to be respected.

She warned that the continent would suffer should Nigeria also decide to treat other nationals in the same manner.

She also lamented the generalization of criminal issues when it involves Nigerian nationals.

"If a Nigerian commits a crime, you should deal with that particular person rather than generalize issues by punishing those who are innocent of the crime,” Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said.

According to her, 994 Nigerians have been deported from Ghana through the land borders in the last 18 months. She made the revelation when she met Nigerian professor, Augustine Nwagbara, who was recently sacked by the University of Education, Winneba, for inciting other Nigerian nationals. Ghanaians and Nigerians have peacefully coexisted for the better part of the last three decades, but that understanding appears to be under threat.

In June, some Ghanaians forcefully ordered the closure of shops operated by Nigerian traders at Suame Magazine.

This followed a spate of crimes and kidnappings in which the suspects have been identified as being Nigerians.

The biggest case remains the kidnapping of three teenage girls in Takoradi in November 2018.

All three are yet to be found, although the prime suspect, identified as a Nigerian national Samuel Wilson Udoetuk, has been apprehended by the police.

In a separate case, six suspects were arrested by the police in connection with the kidnapping of two Canadian girls in Kumasi.

Although the girls have since been rescued, three of the suspects – Sampson Aghalor Romeo, Elvis Ojiyorwe and Jeff Omarsar – have been identified as Nigerians.

There was also the case of five Nigerian nationals who were arrested in Tema for allegedly raping a woman in the presence of her husband.

The above and other happenings involving Nigerians led to a series of clashes between citizens of both countries.

However, calm has recently been restored.