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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has secured the release of 13 out of 19 Nigerians detained in various camps in Poland.
A statement by Head of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said the release was done after the intervention of the Nigeria Ambassador to Poland, Major Gen. Christian Ugwu (Retd).
He said among the six remaining in detention camps, one claimed he was a Cameroonian because the mother is from Cameroon.
“Unfortunately, the remaining five, all applied for international protection (asylum) in Poland, including Igwe Ikechukwu Christian, who had been interviewed by some foreign media. They cannot be released until the Government of Poland takes a decision on their application or they decide to withdraw the application.”
Balogun quoted the Nigerian envoy in Poland as assuring that the Mission would continue to do its best to protect the interest of Nigerians despite that they had been adequately briefed on the likely consequences of remaining as undocumented immigrants in Poland.
President Muhammad Buhari had in March approved the evacuation of Nigerians, mostly students trapped in the Russian- Ukrainian crisis back to the country.
The directive was swiftly carried out by the inter-ministerial agencies coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with over 1,600 Nigerians brought back home.
However, some Nigerians chose to remain behind and were clamped into detention centres in Poland.
Chairman/CEO, NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, commended the successful intervention of the Nigerian mission in Poland, and reiterated the call for Nigerians to obey the laws of the countries they reside.
