PRESS RELEASE BY NANS-Asia
Apr. 20, 2014
Nigerian Students are fed up with the constant intimidation, harassment and illegal arrests carried out on them by Malaysian authorities while the Nigerian High Commission staff turn a blind eye in complete disregard of their constitutional diplomatic responsibilities of protecting the rights of Nigerian citizens.
It is no longer acceptable that innocent Nigerian Students, the potential leaders of tomorrow, who have embarked on a journey, away from their Father’s land in order to gain global enlightenment and exposure; and choosing the Asian peninsula as focus base for their educational pursuits, are now constantly being duped of their tuition fees and falsely accused of crimes not committed by the institutions they study in, their apartments being regularly raided even without warrants, blackmailed and set up for the purpose of extortion, falsified evidence accepted by judges against them in courts which are presented by the police and prosecutors, deported by the immigration authorities for the failure of the institutions of learning and the same immigration departments who fail to quickly process the renewal of Visa for these Nigerian students who have handed in their passports for weeks, months and even years.
The Nigerian High Commission Staffs in Malaysia and Asia at large are hereby held complicit and accountable for the grave injustice meted out on the innocent Nigerian students. Facts available to us, has it that the Nigerian High Commission Staff in Malaysia do not exhibit professionalism in the application of techniques available to establish facts on allegations brought against Nigerian students, except particular orders come from Nigeria in cases involving children of the HIGH and MIGHTY who have business ties within Malaysia.. The High commission staff tends to handle cases based on religious and regional sentiments while condemning other Nigerians to their fate even if truly innocent.
The begging question is; how can we determine the truth of someone’s guilt when no attempt is made to follow up such cases from the onset? It is well known that when the Embassy is contacted to come to the aid of arrested Students, the staffs simply brush such pleas away or sit down in the Comfort of the High Commission premises and demand for proof that the accused is innocent. For this lapse in their activities, several innocent Nigerian students have been arrested, fined, jailed for long periods or completely lost out on their academic pursuits. Out of anger and frustration, some of such students get into criminal activities because from their understanding, No one cares..
There are several cases where police officers in connivance with school security personnel’s, local and foreign agents and lawyers go after students who they believe have financial backing at home. They black mail such students and threaten them of putting them in trouble if they do not pay certain amounts of money. Some of the students who refuse to be oppressed such threats are then arrested, taken to court and false evidence presented against them. In the courts, the prosecutors do not allow the students to speak in protest or self defense. The proceedings in Malaysia courts against Nigerian students are carried out in the Malaysia language of which Nigerians schooling in Malaysia are not mandated by any law to study Malay and therefore do not understand what the prosecutors are telling the judge or what the judge is saying to the court.
Due to the absence of a defense attorney, the colleges staff and Nigerian High Commission staff to represent the student on the first day of proceedings, the judges deny such students bail and on the request of the prosecutors who have connived with the I.O of the case, request the student to be remanded and the case postponed for up to a month or more. This move is often used to frustrate students in fear of losing their academic to plead guilty to crimes not committed and pay bribes or fines to gain their freedom. A student who still refuses such blackmail may spend up to three months or more in jail or even deported and forever tagged a criminal.
Some examples of such cases of innocent Nigerian students who have been arrested for crimes not committed or even killed in Malaysia and no response from the Nigerian High commission are as follows;
Illegal Arrests and detention
1. Nkem Okpa (November 2011): Research student in Malaysia and 10 other students arrested by Malaysian police for 11 days. The police said their arrest was based on reports their Malaysia neighbors made about Africans disturbing which sounds more racist based as nobody was disturbing at the time. The police questioned the students why they had fridge and television sets if they were students. While they were held, the High commission was informed by concerned friends and fellow students but the High commission did nothing.
2. Gabriel (2010): Arrested on the street and thrown into a bus with some people who had been arrested for drug possession of which he had never met. Gabriel was in Sungai Buloh Prisons until 2013 when the culprit pleaded guilty. Gabriel’s entire life has been ruined for nothing.- Body number: 311…
3. Oyewole (2013): Student arrested for not being in possession of his passport which had been submitted to his school for visa renewal. The Police went ahead to carry away cloths and electronics in his apartment.- Body Number: 313….
4. Segun (2013): A house mate to Oyewole. They were arrested together and their possessions stolen by the police.- Body Number: 313…._
5. Adeniji (2013): A student arrested and deported while his passport had been submitted to school for renewal.- Body Number: 313….
6. Victor (2013) Student arrested on the school campus for being in possession of drugs he knew nothing about. His house mate confirmed had been set up. In court, the police presented false evidence against Victor. Victor refusing to be blackmailed by the schools security and the police inspector in charge of the case spent about 3months in remand until his parents told him to plead guilty and be done with it. The High commission was informed but nothing was done about it.- Body Number: 313….
7. Bartholomew (2013): Arrested for a crime he knew nothing about. Evidence and witnesses proves his innocence but he is still locked up in Jail and the Nigerian High Commission is saying nothing.-Body Number : 313….
8. Umar Garkida (2013): Arrested from his hostel, false evidence of drugs presented in court against him. He has refused to be intimidated to plead guilty and has been in jail since November while the High commission and his school are silent.
9. Fahat Sanda (2013): Arrested from his hostel, false evidence of drugs presented in court against him. He has refused intimidation, refused to plead guilty to a crime not committed and so has been in jail since November. The school and High commission are silent.
10. Umar (2014): Arrested from in front of his hostel apartment by the police. Asked for his passport which he had submitted to the school for renewal of Visa. He stated his case and presented his ID as the Student Rep President alongside his student ID, but the police insisted on arresting him unless he pays some bribe. Umar called Mr Banum the head of the school security to come and identify him as the Student Rep President, but he never came. The police officer then arrested Umar and took him to the station and threatened to put him in trouble. Umar then succumbed to the threat and paid Rm300 to regain his freedom on the spot. On returning to the school premises, Umar confronted Mr Banum to know why he refused coming to identify him but there was no response. He then requested that the money he paid be refunded of which Mr Banum said he will refund him and write a petition against the officer in question. Till date, nothing has been heard about the issue.
11. Several Nigerian students in February 2014 were arrested within their school premises by the police and immigration personnel’s for not being in possession of their documents which had been submitted to the school and hence immigration for renewal. The School ignored these students for about 2weeks to suffer in detention and the High Commission did nothing.
The greatest evil that can be done to any society is in destroying the innocent youths, the leaders of tomorrow. Children and youths of Nigeria who are innocent of crimes are being stained with falsehood and blackmailed for the sake of Racism and extortion here in Malaysia by schools, locals, foreigners and security personnel’s. They are prosecuted without defense, pressured into pleading guilty and then later deported as criminals to Nigeria in which with their ‘new found status’ cannot make any positive progress by getting jobs or continuing their education. Hence the future of Nigeria is sabotaged and at risk.
Deaths
1. Onoche Martins (March 2012): Master degree student. Killed by Malaysian Police personnel’s after he allegedly outraged the modesty of a 43year old lady by hugging, kissing and exposing himself by 11am. These accusations do not make sense to any sane being nothing has been heard from the Nigerian High Commission.
2. Solomon Okolo (March 2013): Student from delta state. Killed by Malaysian citizens in the presence of Malaysian police officers after crashing his vehicle. His wife was at the scene of the incidence and to date, nothing has been heard about that case or the culprits. The High commission is silent.
3. Tunde Adelabu (March 2014): A Student Killed by Malaysia police personnel’s who ran away after shooting him. Later on, police personnel’s came back and arrested Tunde’s friend who had witnessed the shooting. Today, nobody knows where this boy has been taken to or if he is still alive. The school he attended are now denying he was ever their student. The High commission s still silent.
4. In India on the 25th of March 2014, Two Nigerians where found seriously stabbed Devli Road, New Delhi. One of them succumbed to injuries and died while the other is at the AIIMS Trauma Centre.
5. In Malaysia, a Nigerian died in detention camp sometime in March. The Nigerian High Commission was invited for the burial or which they attended without contacting the family of this Nigerian. The family of this Nigerian back home believes their son is alive somewhere. The High Commission should give reasons for their action
Let us make it clear that Nigerian students pay as much as $10,000 and more in Malaysia as tuition fees per year but are denied working opportunities. Most of the Universities and colleges do not encourage/sponsor competitive sporting activities that involve the black students for fear that scouts may pick such students over the Malaysian students. The Nigerian High Commission has never organized seminars or symposiums to keep the Nigerian students busy, orientate the Nigerian students about the environment they live in, collect information about happenings within their various schooling environment and checking on the general welfare of the Nigerian students in Malaysia.
It is also pertinent to state that the following Institutions are those in which Nigerian students are defrauded and harassed for either Immigration documents or blackmailed for drugs possession by the security and police personnel’s. non students are also allowed to live among students and this contributes to the unwarranted harassment. Therefore, these universities should not be allowed access to students from Nigeria until they fix their campuses and update their standards to safe guard the lives and integrity of their students.
1. MANTISSA COLLEGE
2. WORLD POINT ACADEMY
3. EDU GOLF
4. PERFECT EDUCATION
5. ATLANTIC COLLEGE
6. INSTITUTE OPTOPRENUER
7. LEGENDA GROUP OF COLLEGES
8. TECHNIQUE CAMPUS
9. KOLEJ YAYASAN MELAKA
10. FTMS
11. COLLEGE PAMAISURI
12. LINTON UNIVERSITY
13. LINCOLN UNIVERSITY
We call on President Goodluck Jonathan to save the future of Our Beloved country by SAVING THE INNOCENT NIGERIAN STUDENTS wrongly prosecuted and jailed in Malaysia due to the negligence and complicity of the Nigerian High Commission in Malaysia.
Signed
Comrade Prince David O.C Nwaogwugwu.
President NANS-Asia, Unitar International University Kolej Yayasan Melaka Campus,
Nwaogwugwuprincedavide@yahoo.
+60163218640,
