Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has described as malicious, mischievous and fabulous story, claims by the leader of the proscribed Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Uchenna Madu, the commission was being used as a conduit by the Federal government to forcefully deport persecuted Biafrans.
In a statement entitled “Security agents killing our members secretly “, the group alleged that NIDCOM is being used to crack down on its pro-Biafra groups leaders in the diaspora.
In a statement by Head, Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, NIDCOM, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Dabiri-Erewa said: “These and other fabricated stories by this discredited group are false, mischievous and at best another tales by moonlight narrative.
“NIDCOM as we know has no such powers nor has such agents of harrasment both in Nigeria and in the foreign lands.
“In international Relations, the process of deportation is a country to country decision which lies with the country’s foreign policy within the purview of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“It must be pointed out that most countries are clamping down on irregular immigrants irrespective of their faith, ethnic or nationalities,” she said.
The NIDCOM boss noted that she has consistently been appealing to Nigerians to obey laws of the countries they reside and be good Ambassadors of Nigeria.
According to her, the allegation that “the Federal Government is secretly working with some agents of foreign countries to arrest our members in diaspora and deport them to Nigeria for persecution and prosecution”, is a figment of the group imagination.
“Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and her Commission is for all Nigerians irrespective of their tribes or religious inclinations as enshrined in the Act of the Parliament setting up the Commission”, the statement added.