Poland frees 13 Nigerians detained after fleeing Ukraine
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Poland has released 13 Nigerians it detained after they fled the Russian onslaught on Ukraine but the East European country is still holding in detention camps six others seeking asylum until their cases are decided.
Up to 19 Nigerians who escaped the war were detained in various camps in Poland. Abuja kicked against it and asked Warsaw to send them to Nigeria.
Five of the six remaining are seeking asylum in Poland, but one claimed he is also a Cameroonian by virtue of his mother’s nationality, as disclosed by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).
They were released with the intervention of Nigeria’s Ambassador to Poland Christian Ugwu, according to a statement issued by NiDCOM Media and Public Relations Unit Head Abdur-Rahman Balogun.
“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 cannot be released until the Government of Poland takes a decision on their application or they decide to withdraw the application,” Ugwu explained in the statement.
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Caring for Nigerians in Poland
Ugwu pledged that the embassy will continue to do its best to ensure the interest of Nigerians are well taken care of even though they had been well briefed on the likely consequences of remaining as undocumented immigrants in Poland, per The Nation.
President Muhammad Buhari in March approved the evacuation of Nigerians, mostly students, trapped in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The directive was carried out by inter-ministerial agencies coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with more than 1,600 repatriated.
But some Nigerians chose to remain and were clamped into detention centres in Poland.
NiDCOM Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Abike Dabiri-Erewa commended the successful intervention of the Nigerian Mission in Poland and reiterated the call for diaspora Nigerians to obey the laws of their host countries.
