Follow Us on Google
Fred Itua, Abuja
The Senate, yesterday, summoned the Nigeria ambassador to South Africa to explain the circumstances that led to the murder of the Deputy Director-General of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Elizabeth Ndubusi-Chukwu, in South Africa.
It also issued a stern warning to the South African government to stop the killing of Nigerians resident in the country.
The positions of the Senate followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, tagged: “Death of Elizabeth Ndubuisi-Chukwu in South Africa.”
Angered by the development, it issued a travel alert to Nigerians traveling to South Africa to be security conscious and ensure that their safety is not under threats.
“She went to South Africa to attend the conference of the African Insurance Organisation (AI0) and initially was suspected to have died of cardiac arrest.
“The Insinuation was proved wrong following autopsy report released on June 20, 2019, by South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, which indicated in a death certificate that the death was unnatural and suspected to be murder due to strangulation.
“The suspicion that she could have been murdered was further confirmed in a separate document issued by South Africa’s Department of Health on June 27, 2019, where it corroborated the autopsy report and revealed that she was strangled.
“This is not the First time Nigerians have died in suspicious and curious circumstances In South Africa,” Abaribe said.
Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu gave further insights into how Nigerians are sometimes trailed to their hotels and killed in South Africa.
He said the Federal Government must do more to put a final stop to the endless killing of Nigerians doing legitimate businesses in the former apartheid country.
Kalu said: “I was in the country and I visited the embassy. I interacted with three former presidents. When they think you have some money, they track you to the hotel and sometimes kill you.
“The Federal Government needs to do something. The person killed was a Federal Government delegate. The hotel in question must provide the footage for investigation. Everywhere in South Africa, they pursue Nigerians around like common criminals.
“We have businesses there the same way they have businesses here. Three former presidents of South Africa have lived in Lagos. If they have, they should treat us as friends.
“Let us invite their ambassador to Nigeria and our ambassador to South Africa. I don’t know when enough will be better. But enough is enough. This has to stop.”
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said as a responsible country, Nigeria cannot fold its hands and watch its citizens killed in other nations of the world. He insisted that this must stop.
He said: “This issue was discussed in the eight Senate. We sent a delegation to the South African Parliament then. South African businesses flourish more here.
“South African people are safe here. There is no need to take the lives of Nigerians. We deserve some respect. Our relationship must be respected. We are a responsible country.
“We should not be taken for granted. We have provided leadership in Africa. We can’t take these killings anymore. We need to support the Executive to stop these killings.”
