NiDCOM: Few Nigerians agreed to leave Tunisia amid attacks on migrants

March 6, 2023 10:46 pm

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chair of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM)

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) says few Nigerians have agreed to return home from Tunisia.

In a statement on Monday, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the NiDCOM chairperson, said Asari Allotey, Nigeria’s ambassador to Tunisia, was consulting with the Nigerian community on an evacuation decision.

This development comes after Kais Saied, Tunisia’s president, had in a meeting of his country’s national security council on February 21, called for urgent measures against sub-Saharan migrants.

Saied urged security forces to halt illegal immigration and described the migrants’ influx as a conspiracy to “change Tunisia’s democratic makeup”.

He claimed that migrants were behind most crimes in the North African country, thus fueling a spate of sackings, evictions, and attacks.

Reacting to the development, Dabiri-Erewa tweeted: “Here is an update on the situation in Tunisia, where blacks have been victims of racial attacks. Our ambassador is in consultation with the Nigerian community, on a decision on evacuation.”

“Those that have agreed to return to Nigeria are very few and the mission is working with the IOM to arrange tickets for them.

Here is an update on the situation in Tunisia, where blacks have been victims of racial attacks. OurAmbassador is in consultation with the Nigerian Community,on a decision on evacuation.Those that have agreed to return to Nigeria are very few and the mission

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— world (@s2_vpd) March 6, 2023

“The many others want to wait it out, praying it will soon pass, following the intervention of the AU and the African Group of Ambassadors.

“Though we don’t really have a large community of Nigerians in Tunisia as many of them are those rescued from the Mediterranean after a failed attempt to cross from Libya, the mission will update if they do request to return.”

Meanwhile, NAN reports that the Tunisian president has denounced making racist comments and pointed to possible legal consequences for perpetrators of racial attacks.