A Nigerian consular official
warned on Monday that thousands of Indians in his country will be "thrown
out on the streets" if police doesn't stop evicting Nigerians from their
rented homes in Goa.
Speaking to IANS after
meeting members of the Nigerian community in Goa, bureaucrats and police
officials over the last two days, consular attache Jacob Nwadadia said the Goa
government had until 9 pm on Monday to stop the illegal eviction process.
"There are only 50,000
Nigerians living in India but there are over one million Indians living in
Nigeria. Thousands of Indians living there will be thrown out on the streets if
forcible eviction of Nigerians in Goa does not stop," Jacob said.
The official said Nigeria
was five hours behind Indian Standard Time and that there would be time for the
Nigerian government to order action against Indians living there.
The Goa government has
ordered a crackdown on all foreigners living in this tourism hub after a bitter
clash between a mob of over 200 Nigerians on one side and police and locals on
the other.
The Nigerians, who were
protesting the murder of one of their compatriots, had blocked National Highway
17 for several hours, demanding the presence of Nigerian consular officials for
the autopsy proceedings.
During the clashes, the
Nigerians not only smashed a police hearse van, but also dumped the corpse in
the middle of the road, blocking all traffic.
Over 50 Nigerians were
arrested following the violence.
Chief Minister Manohar
Parrikar later claimed that the murder was a result of a war between two
narcotics gangs, while the Nigerians said their fellow national was murdered by
the local drug mafia which had the sympathies of a minister.
Jacob, who spoke to IANS on
his way back to New Delhi after a two-day tour of Goa, also said that police
had been going from home to home in places where Nigerians resided and were
forcibly evicting them out.
"They are evicting
Nigerians forcibly. There is no rule of law," the attache said.
One of those suffering the
brunt of the forcible eviction is Chioma Ghansoli, a 24-year-old Nigerian
living in Anjuna.
On Monday morning, Chioma
Ghansoli's landlord asked her to move out of the rented house by the end of the
day and she has nowhere to go for the night but the beach, where she plans to
spend the night, in absence of a roof over her head.
"My landlord said all
the 'blacks' had to be evicted on police instructions. I have nowhere to go in
Goa. Me and my friends will spend the night at the beach tonight with our
luggage," Chioma said.
She added that locals had
begun to specifically target Africans racially chiding them for being of black
persuasion.
Jacob also that said a
resolution passed by a local panchayat headed by the wife of a BJP legislator,
Michael Lobo, banning Nigerians from the village should be withdrawn.
"This kind of
harassment has to stop without delay," Jacob said, threatening similar reciprocation
in Nigeria.
(NDTV)
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