Killing of Nigerians in your country must stop, Lawan tells South Africa

Senate President Ahmad Lawan says Nigeria has had enough of the killing of its citizens in South Africa.

Mohammed Isa, his special assistant on media and publicity, quoted Lawan as saying this when he hosted Bobby Moroe, South African commissioner to Nigeria.

At least 120 Nigerians have lost their lives to xenophobic attacks in South Africa in the last three years.

The most recent victim was Elizabeth Ndubisi-Chukwu, deputy director-general of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), who was found dead in her hotel room in Johannesburg.

An autopsy had revealed that she died from “unnatural causes consistent with strangulation”.

Lawan asked the South African to do more to protect Nigerians.

“We in the parliament must speak and prevent any further killings. These killings must stop,” Lawan said.

“This is the era of social media where corpse of a victim may spark violence that may go beyond the control of government.

“The South African government must as a matter of urgency do whatever it takes to protect the lives and property of Nigerians living there, just as Nigerian government remains committed to the safety of South Africans residing here and their investments.

“I believe we have faced enough, we will no longer take it anymore. We want to write the names of Nigerians killed, and the South African parliament must act fast to put a stop to this menace.

“Over the years, 118 Nigerians have been killed, while 13 out of these were killed by South African Police. We must establish events leading into these killings, including the recent one of Mrs.Elizabeth Chukwu, who was killed in her hotel room.”

Godwin Adama, consul-general of Nigeria in South Africa, had said he was not sure that South Africa could control murder.