The House of Representatives has accused China of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other Africans in their country. Nigeria House of Rep declared this on Tuesday, 28th of April, 2020 after so many viral videos of Nigerians being pushed out of their homes, hotels, cafeteria, and other places kept surfacing on the internet.
Mr. Benjamin Kalu and nine others lead the motion to evacuate Nigerians that are suffering under the false act of quarantine policies by the People’s Republic of China.
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Leading the debate on Tuesday, Kalu said China has failed to acknowledge the kindness shown by the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Chinese in Nigeria by not doing the same for the Nigerians in China. He said;
“Actions of the Chinese authorities do not reciprocate the favorable treatment their nationals enjoy in Nigeria, but have instead, put a strain on the diplomatic and economic relations between Nigeria and China, thereby, endangering Nigerian businesses in China valued at billions of dollars.”
Ministry of Foreign Affairs with some other departments and agencies related to handling international affairs have been asked to ensure the safety of Nigerians who wishes to return home, only those with the following would be allowed to return through the Ministries and departments.
- Nigerians with a form of travel document and identification
- Nigerians with passports but expired visas
- Nigerians with passports and valid visas
- Nigerians with that only visited for business
And also, Nigerians who have tested negative to Coronavirus and wish to return home would be granted passage through the agency, department, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Kalu also added that;
“Under the pretext of curbing the spread of COVID-19, which ironically originated in Wuhan, China, several kinds of maltreatment of Nigerian citizens in Guangzhou have been perpetrated by Chinese people and authorities including wrongful confiscation of Nigerian International Passports, prolonged and illegal detention of Nigerians in the name of mandatory quarantine despite having certificates of clean health and no recent travel history, outright refusal to test or release the test results, and the eviction of Nigerians from their homes and hotel accommodations,”
The House of Rep therefore concluded in statement that reads;
“Urge the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to provide all necessary financial and other assistance to affected Nigerian citizen in China who wish to seek redress in any local or international court for breach of fundamental rights, loss of property or any other actionable cause occasioned by their maltreatment or discrimination in China
Mandate the Committees on Interior, Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring, and Commerce to investigate the Nigerian Immigration, Corporate Affairs Commission, Nigerian Content and Development Monitoring Board, and any other relevant Ministry, Department or Agency to check the validity of all immigration documents of every Chinese person in Nigeria and the expatriate quota of all the Chinese businesses in Nigeria to ascertain the number of illegal and undocumented Chinese immigrants in Nigeria and to repatriate them to China to regularize.
Mandate the Committees on Inter-Parliamentary Relations, Foreign Affairs, Human Rights and Diaspora to ascertain the extent of violation of rights of Nigerians in China as well as losses arising from such maltreatment and to further engage the Chinese Parliament appropriately to register Nigeria’s National Assembly condemnation of the maltreatment, discrimination and xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in China and to ensure the cessation of such actions by its people and government and that treatments meted to Nigerians are compatible with China’s human rights obligations, and to report back within two (2) weeks for further legislative action.”
The speaker of the house of representative, Femi Gbajabiamila also added;
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency, Geoffrey Onyeama has been consistent in his defense of the rights of Nigerians abroad, and the House commends his efforts. Yet, despite his efforts and the assurances given to the House by the Chinese Ambassador in Nigeria, there are still reports of ongoing mistreatment of Nigerians in China,”
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