The Coalition of Civil Societies has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue innocent Nigerians who have been sentenced to life imprisonment or facing the death sentence on trumped up charges in Malaysia.
The group also asked the President to demand explanation from the Nigeria mission in Malaysia on their involvement in setting up Nigerians in that country and refusing to act to protect them.
Group convener Sunday Attah, who addressed reporters in Abuja, accused officials of the Nigeria Embassy in Malaysia of conniving with security agents to harass, intimidate and arrest Nigerians indiscriminately on trumped up charges.
According to him, the President must act fast to save these Nigerians the same way he did for Zainab Aliyu Ibrahim in Saudi Arabia.
The coalition alleged that Malaysian security forces deliberately raid, harass, intimidate and molest Nigerians with officials of the Nigeria mission ding nothing about it.
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He said: “Some activities of the said embassy officials have in no small measures basterdised the renewed image of Nigeria that President Muhammadu Buhari is working to build.
“It is high time the Federal Government acts so that few people will not be “a clog in the wheel” of the image President Buhari is working re-build for Nigeria. Nigeria needs to be doing the right things locally, nationally and internationally for the country and its citizens to be respected, hence the need to caution the bad eggs in the system at all times.
“The way Malaysian police accuse, kill, extort, assault, intimidate and harass Nigerians is surprising, shocking, and unbelievable; it makes mockery of us as the giant of Africa. For example, a Nigerian was set up in Sarawak by Malaysian police, taken away in handcuffs and after the police searched his car in dark basement, they claimed drugs was found in his car and so he should pay 150,000 Malaysian Ringgit for his freedom. But the guy could not meet the demand and as we talk now, he has been sentenced to death by hanging.
“This very act by the Malaysian government and police is one too many, it is gradually demonstrating its penchant for impunity, racism, disregard for the International rule of law and professionalism.
“If any swift action is not taken within seven days, we will have no choice than to give the Malaysian Embassy in Nigeria a-seven-day ultimatum to close down and leave our country since it is clear they cannot protect the interest of Nigerians living in their country.
But Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora matters, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the Nigeria mission in Malaysia was investigating the case of the suspect and has not abandoned him.
She worried over the number of Nigerians involved in drug-related cases in the Asian country, as well as the fragmentation of the Nigerian body in Malaysia. She urged them to use their energy positively.
She said: “NIDO Malaysia is fragmented; don’t get involved in their squabbles. The group that issued that statement is one faction fighting another faction. The embassy in Malaysia is looking into the suspect’s case as seen in the communication above from them to me.
“The number of Nigerians allegedly dealing in drugs in Malaysia is worrisome. While the embassy will look into this case as it has done others, we must admonish the few Nigerians in crime to stop it as the act of a few is tarnishing the image of others…”
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