By David O Royal
The two Nigerian students of Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) who were wrongly deported by Croatian security officials to Bosnia are on their way back to Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement by Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on Friday.
The statement reads:
“Latest reports indicate that the two Nigerians detained in Bosnia border camp have been released and are airborne back home to Nigeria,” the statement read.
“We commend the quick intervention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Geofrey Onyeama, the Nigerian Ambassador to Hungary Amb Eniola Ajayi and staff of the mission and the unrelenting efforts of the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa. The Commission earnestly wait for their safe return.
“It could be recalled that the two Nigerians were arrested while taking a walk around the capital on November 18 as they couldn’t produce relevant documents to the police.
“The police officers reportedly transferred them to Bosnia-Herzegovina border, where Croatian authorities had gathered a group of irregular migrants making efforts to cross into the country.”
You would recall that the two Nigerian students who arrived Croatia, Zagreb on November 12 to participate in the World University Championships in Pula were deported by Croatian security officials to Bosnia.
Croatian police claimed the students were in the country illegally, even though the students arrived in the country with valid visas.
The two students, Abie Uchenna Alexandra and Kenneth Chinedu were in the country to participate in the table tennis tournament.
According to Al Jazeera report, the student headed from Pula to Zagreb after the table tennis tournament. They were scheduled to return Nigeria via Istanbul on November 18.
They encountered the Croatian police when they left the hotel they were staying to explore the city according to Sarajevo-based Zurnal.
The police stopped them for interrogation and later arrested them because they were not with their documents.
The students said the documents were in their hotel room and they tried to explain to the police but they weren’t ready to listen to them.
Vanguard News Nigeria