By George Mgbeleke<\/p>\n
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) commends the Federal Government of Nigeria and Air Peace for the successful evacuation of Nigerians fleeing the latest wave of xenophobic violence in South Africa. <\/p>\n
In a statement by HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko,the prompt rescue operation has undoubtedly saved many innocent lives and reflects the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens wherever they may be.<\/p>\n
HURIWA he said,”particularly applauds Air Peace for its patriotism and swift response in deploying a replacement aircraft after the original evacuation plane suffered a technical fault in Johannesburg. The airline’s commitment ensured that the operation proceeded without unnecessary delay despite the challenging circumstances.<\/p>\n
“While the evacuation is commendable, HURIWA warns that bringing Nigerians home cannot and must not be the end of the matter. The recurring attacks on Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa have become an intolerable pattern of violence, lawlessness and impunity that demands consequences beyond emergency evacuations.<\/p>\n
“For far too long, hardworking Nigerians have built legitimate businesses, invested in properties, paid taxes and contributed to the South African economy, only to become targets of violent mobs who destroy their livelihoods, loot their investments and, in some cases, brutally take their lives. This cycle of violence has persisted for years with little accountability for the perpetrators and inadequate protection for victims.”<\/p>\n
HURIWA therefore called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately initiate high-level diplomatic engagements with the South African government to secure comprehensive compensation for every Nigerian whose business, home, investment or other legally acquired property was destroyed during the attacks. Families of Nigerians who lost their lives must equally receive justice and adequate compensation.<\/p>\n
The association he said,”insists that the Nigerian government owes its citizens more than evacuation flights. It owes them justice, restitution and the assurance that their rights and dignity will be defended wherever they reside.<\/p>\n
“Should the South African government fail to provide satisfactory compensation and credible guarantees against future attacks, Nigeria should immediately review its diplomatic relationship with South Africa. This should include the downgrading of diplomatic ties and the mobilisation of the African Union and other African governments to exert coordinated diplomatic pressure until justice is served.<\/p>\n
“No nation that repeatedly fails to protect fellow Africans within its borders should expect business as usual from the rest of the continent. African solidarity cannot exist only in speeches while innocent Africans continue to suffer violent attacks without meaningful consequences.”<\/p>\n
HURIWA further urged the Federal Government to establish a comprehensive database of Nigerians affected by the xenophobic attacks to facilitate documentation of losses and strengthen Nigeria’s demand for compensation through diplomatic and international legal channels.<\/p>\n
“The association stands firmly with every Nigerian victim of xenophobic violence and calls on the Federal Government to match the courage it has shown in rescuing its citizens with equal determination in securing justice, compensation and lasting protection for them.<\/p>\n
“Nigeria must make it unmistakably clear that while its citizens can be evacuated from danger, their rights, investments and dignity can never be abandoned, it said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) commends the Federal Government of Nigeria and Air Peace for the successful evacuation of Nigerians fleeing the latest wave of xenophobic violence in South Africa. In a statement by HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko,the prompt rescue operation has undoubtedly saved many innocent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15439"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15440,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15439\/revisions\/15440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}