Poland releases 13 detained Nigerians, holds on to 6

Nigerian government said on Wednesday morning that 13 out of 19 of her citizens detained in various camps in Poland have been released.

The Nigerians had fled Ukraine as a result of the country’s on going war with Russia before they were arrested and detained at the detention camps in Poland.

But in a statement on Wednesday morning, Abdur-Rahman Balogun Head of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission NiDCOM, Abuja said 13 of the 19 detainees were released with the intervention of the Nigeria Ambassador to Poland, Major General Christian Ugwu ( Rtd ).

He quoted Ugwu as saying among the six remaining in detention camps, one of them claimed that he is a Cameroonian because the mother is from Cameroon.

He added that the others cannot be released because they have applied for asylum in Poland and cannot be allowed to go until the end of that process.

“Unfortunately, the remaining five, all applied for international protection (asylum) in Poland including Igwe Ikechukwu Christian, who had been interviewed by some foreign media.

“They can not be released until the Government of Poland takes a decision on their application or they decide to withdraw the application”, the Envoy added.

The Ambassador assured Nigerians that the Mission will continue to do its best to ensure that the interest of Nigerians are well taken care of, despite the fact that they had been adequately briefed on the likely consequences of remaining as undocumented immigrants in Poland.

President Muhammad Buhari had in March immediately approved the evacuation of Nigerians mostly students trapped in the Russian- Ukrainian crisis back home.

The directive was swiftly carried out by the inter-ministerial agencies coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with over 1600 Nigerians brought back home.

However, some of the Nigerians chose to remain behind and were clamped into detention centres in Poland.

Speaking on the development, Hon. (Dr) Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) commended the successful intervention of the Nigerian mission in Poland , and reiterated the call for Nigerians to obey the laws of the countries they reside.

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