•Deportees narrate ordeals •We’re neither
involved nor informed –Nigerian Ambassador
For
Nigerians resident in Kenya, these are the worst of times. Their plight could
be compared to the era of slave trade when able-bodied Africans could not tell
what the next minute held for them because human traffickers could pick them up
the next minute.
Checks
revealed that in recent times, Nigerians have become victims of undeserved
humiliation and deportation in President Barrack Obama’s country of origin.
It
was gathered that due to the uproar that followed a recent publication by
Sunday Sun in which one of the deportees, Anthony Chinedu, recounted his sad
experiences in the hands of Kenyan security personnel, the government of the
East African country swiftly changed its strategy. According to latest deportees,
the Kenyan security agents have resorted to bugging telephone conversations of
Nigerians, and once the name or language sounds Nigerian, they would trace the
person and get him arrested.
They
stated that Nigerian citizens, especially those engaged in legitimate
businesses in that country live literally with their hearts on their palms,
hiding from place to place for fear of being picked up and bundled back home
empty handed.
It
was alleged that part of the grouse that the Kenyan President and his deputy
have against Nigerian citizens was that Nigerians gave massive support to his
rival in the country’s recent presidential election and that a Nigerian is in
charge of the deputy president’s case at the International Criminal Court.
Jet used to deport
Anthony Chinedu still at MMA
Checks
by Sunday Sun indicated that, as at press time, the jet (5Y-SAX) used to deport
Anthony Chinedu last week, was still being detained at the cargo wing of the of
Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Unconfirmed sources from Kenya
said the jet belonged to Hon William Ruto, the Kenyan Vice President. It was
gathered that the jet’s voyage into the Nigerian airspace was not properly and
officially documented, a situation that suggested that it might not have followed
due process.
President orders mass
arrest and deportation
A
tacit official confirmation that Kenya-based Nigerians were really in for hard
times, came last Monday, when that country’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, in a
public function, gave his nod to mass deportation of Nigerians. While declaring
open the 2nd National Conference on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) in Nairobi,
on June 11, 2013, he ordered the security agencies to fish out, arrest and
deport all foreigners suspected to engage in drug trafficking in Kenya.
Sunday Sun monitored the reportage of the presidential order that was relayed
in Kenyan radio and TV stations including NTV, Capital FM and Ghetto Radio-
89.5FM, as well as some tabloids the next day. Some of their headlines read:
“Deport all suspected drug dealers”, “Police to arrest, deport all foreigners
suspected of engaging in drug”, and “Deport all suspected foreign drug
dealers”. It was gathered that since that official directive, several Nigerians
have been secretly deported.
Many
Nigerian citizens in that country saw the presidential order as an official
permission to Kenyans to tag any face they do not like, as “suspected” drug
dealer. One of them who mailed Sunday Sun stated that, “since all it takes to
throw a foreigner out of Kenya is mere suspicion, landlords, debtors and
anybody who doesn’t like your face only needs to call in the police and brand
you a suspect.”
One
of the victims who identified himself simply as Joe, spoke to Sunday Sun upon
his arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, on Monday. Like
Chinedu, he is also an indigene of Anambra state. Narrating his experiences in
the hands of the Kenyan police, he stated that he was picked up Sunday night
and told to choose either to die slowly in their (security men) hands or silent
deportation.
“I
asked them what they meant by going home silently and they said they would just
buy a normal air ticket for me, so I could return to Nigeria like other normal
travelers, and I chose the latter,” he said.
Joe
said he learnt later, that the security agents adopted the strategy because the
Nigerian High Commission in Kenya had lodged official complaint to the
authorities about the deportation of Nigerian citizens without its knowledge.
About a dozen Nigerian citizens resident in Kenya who reacted to Sunday Sun
interview with Anthony Chinedu also confirmed that Nigerians were still being
recklessly arrested and detained. They also confirmed Joe’s allegation of
silent deportation.
Another
deportee, Mr Paul Owoseni, an indigene of Ondo state, told a pathetic
story. He told Sunday Sun while on his way to his village that he did not
know his offence.
Hear
him: “Many Nigerians are still detained there, as we speak, awaiting
deportation. Till now, I don’t know what offence I committed that warranted
this inhuman treatment. Their security agents just go on the streets of Kenya,
picking up anyone they identify as a Nigerian and tag him a drug dealer. I was
doing my legitimate business in that country; I did not sale, take or keep
drugs, and nobody has ever seen me with any narcotic substance. They picked me
up on Monday (June 3), and detained me till Thursday, before bundling about ten
of us into the plane. We were not allowed to take even a pin. They told us
while in detention, that they wanted all Nigerians out of their country, not
minding whether we were doing legitimate business or not. They also said that
they did not want to get rid of us through court process.
Tracking method
“The
moment you call a friend and the security agents noticed it is a Nigerian name
you called, they would track both of you and get you arrested. They also
intercept calls, and once they notice that you sounded Nigerian, they would
trace you and get you arrested immediately.”
Owoseni
told Sunday Sun that while in Kenya, he was into importation of human hairs
that he also supplied to Uganda and Tanzania, and he had just stocked his shop.
Oseni alleged that the security agents broke his gate while he was away on the
day they came to arrest him, at about 5pm, and waited for him.
“They
even arrested a friend that was in my company at that time. I will not mention
his name because he is among those in detention in Kenya.”
Kenyan wife works with
Kenyan army
Owoseni
who arrived in Nigeria with nothing, told Sunday Sun that like many other
Nigerians, he was married to a Kenyan and they had a child, Micheal. He stated
that his Kenyan wife, Damaris, who works for the Kenyan army, was still at work
when he was arrested, and they did not allow him to communicate with her before
he was deported. Like the other deportees, he urged that the Nigerian
government should not let all their struggles in Kenya to be in vain.
Another Deportee
speaks
Also
forced out of Kenya, was Oluwatosin Adebiyi, an indigene of Oyo State, who was
arrested at midnight and taken away in his nightclothes. “They stormed my house
at midnight and arrested me. They were about 40 armed men, and before I was
taken away, they ransacked the house and took away all handy valuables
including my $20,000 cash, five phones and three ipads belonging to me and my
wife. My duplex, two cars and other valuables in the house are worth over N60
million. “The most annoying part was that they rendered me incommunicado,
disallowed me from communicating with my Kenyan wife and children. They did not
give me any option while in detention.”
They jumped into my
compound around 1 a.m. –Daniel
Another
deportee, Mr Daniel, narrated his ordeal in Kenya. “On Sunday night (June 2),
about 15 policemen who were armed to the teeth, came to my house. They actually
scaled the fence like criminals, around 1 a.m., and ordered me to open my door.
Initially, I thought they were armed robbers.
Source: Sun
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