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WE ARE NOT CRIMINALS – FG FIRES GHANAIANS PROTESTING ‘NIGERIA MUST GO’
The Federal Government, through the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), has condemned the protest by Ghanaians calling on Nigerians to be deported from the West African country.
Some Ghanaian citizens staged a protest against Nigerians, accusing them of engaging in mass prostitution, ritual killings, kidnapping, and violent crimes in their country.
In a viral video seen on Tuesday, the protesters, numbering in their hundreds, carried placards with inscriptions such as “Armed robbery and violent attacks must stop,” “Our health at stake due to mass prostitution,” “Nigerians are kidnapping and using people for rituals,” and “Our kids are getting missing because of Igbos.”
Reacting in a statement,, Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, NIDCOM, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, disclosed that Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO NIDCOM, said the blanket outrage against Nigerians living in Ghana and branding them as criminals should be condemned by all.
She said: “Nigerians are not criminals. They are good ambassadors wherever they find themselves while those bad ones should be fish out and face the necessary sanctions.
“Ghana and Nigeria are like siamese twins. They are brothers and such in the spirit of ECOWAS and regional integration should continue to live in peace like brothers.”
The NIDCOM Boss appealed for calm and urged Nigerians living in Ghana not to be provoked or go into violence with anyone as the issue is being handled at the diplomatic level.
She advised anyone using inciteful words to desist henceforth both from Nigerians and Ghanaians as that is capable of escalating the matter.
Dabiri-Erewa also advised Nigerians to disregard the videos circulating that Nigerians’ shops and properties are destroyed by Ghanaians.
“There is no evidence to that and we must at all cost prevent any reprisal attacks,” she said.
She praised Ghanaian and Nigeria High Commissioners for their efforts to control the situation, adding that the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, has also been in touch with Ghanaian authorities and had taken some pro- active measures.
