According to the Sun, for Nigerians resident in Kenya, these are the worst of times. Their plight could be compared to the era of slave trade when able-bodied Africans could not tell what the next minute held for them because human traffickers could pick them up the next minute.
Checks revealed that in recent times,
Nigerians have become victims of undeserved humiliation and deportation in
President Barrack Obama's country of origin.
It was gathered that due to the uproar
that followed a recent publication by Sunday Sun in which one of the deportees,
Anthony Chinedu, recounted his sad experiences in the hands of Kenyan security
personnel, the government of the East African country swiftly changed its
strategy. According to latest deportees, the Kenyan security agents have
resorted to bugging telephone conversations of Nigerians, and once the name or
language sounds Nigerian, they would trace the person and get him arrested.
They stated that Nigerian citizens,
especially those engaged in legitimate businesses in that country live
literally with their hearts on their palms, hiding from place to place for fear
of being picked up and bundled back home empty handed.
It was alleged that part of the grouse
that the Kenyan President and his deputy have against Nigerian citizens was
that Nigerians gave massive support to his rival in the country's recent presidential
election and that a Nigerian is in charge of the deputy president's case at the
International Criminal Court.
Jet used to deport Anthony Chinedu
still at MMA
Checks by Sunday Sun indicated that, as
at press time, the jet (5Y-SAX) used to deport Anthony Chinedu last week, was
still being detained at the cargo wing of the of Murtala Muhammed International
Airport in Lagos. Unconfirmed sources from Kenya said the jet belonged to Hon
William Ruto, the Kenyan Vice President. It was gathered that the jet's voyage
into the Nigerian airspace was not properly and officially documented, a
situation that suggested that it might not have followed due process.
President orders mass arrest and
deportation
A tacit official confirmation that
Kenya-based Nigerians were really in for hard times, came last Monday, when
that country's president, Uhuru Kenyatta, in a public function, gave his nod to
mass deportation of Nigerians. While declaring open the 2nd National Conference
on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) in Nairobi, on June 11, 2013, he ordered the
security agencies to fish out, arrest and deport all foreigners suspected to
engage in drug trafficking in Kenya. Sunday Sun monitored the reportage of the
presidential order that was relayed in Kenyan radio and TV stations including
NTV, Capital FM and Ghetto Radio- 89.5FM, as well as some tabloids the next
day. Some of their headlines read: "Deport all suspected drug
dealers", "Police to arrest, deport all foreigners suspected of
engaging in drug", and "Deport all suspected foreign drug
dealers". It was gathered that since that official directive, several
Nigerians have been secretly deported.
Many Nigerian citizens in that country
saw the presidential order as an official permission to Kenyans to tag any face
they do not like, as "suspected" drug dealer. One of them who mailed
Sunday Sun stated that, "since all it takes to throw a foreigner out of
Kenya is mere suspicion, landlords, debtors and anybody who doesn't like your
face only needs to call in the police and brand you a suspect."
One of the victims who identified
himself simply as Joe, spoke to Sunday Sun upon his arrival at the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport, on Monday. Like Chinedu, he is also an indigene
of Anambra state. Narrating his experiences in the hands of the Kenyan police,
he stated that he was picked up Sunday night and told to choose either to die
slowly in their (security men) hands or silent deportation.
"I asked them what they meant by
going home silently and they said they would just buy a normal air ticket for
me, so I could return to Nigeria like other normal travelers, and I chose the
latter," he said.
Joe said he learnt later, that the
security agents adopted the strategy because the Nigerian High Commission in
Kenya had lodged official complaint to the authorities about the deportation of
Nigerian citizens without its knowledge. About a dozen Nigerian citizens
resident in Kenya who reacted to Sunday Sun interview with Anthony Chinedu also
confirmed that Nigerians were still being recklessly arrested and detained.
They also confirmed Joe's allegation of silent deportation.
Another deportee, Mr Paul Owoseni, an
indigene of Ondo state, told a pathetic story. He told Sunday Sun while on his
way to his village that he did not know his offence.
Hear him: "Many Nigerians are
still detained there, as we speak, awaiting deportation. Till now, I don't know
what offence I committed that warranted this inhuman treatment. Their security
agents just go on the streets of Kenya, picking up anyone they identify as a
Nigerian and tag him a drug dealer. I was doing my legitimate business in that
country; I did not sale, take or keep drugs, and nobody has ever seen me with
any narcotic substance. They picked me up on Monday (June 3), and detained me
till Thursday, before bundling about ten of us into the plane. We were not
allowed to take even a pin. They told us while in detention, that they wanted
all Nigerians out of their country, not minding whether we were doing
legitimate business or not. They also said that they did not want to get rid of
us through court process.
Tracking method
"The moment you call a friend and
the security agents noticed it is a Nigerian name you called, they would track
both of you and get you arrested. They also intercept calls, and once they
notice that you sounded Nigerian, they would trace you and get you arrested
immediately."
Owoseni told Sunday Sun that while in
Kenya, he was into importation of human hairs that he also supplied to Uganda
and Tanzania, and he had just stocked his shop. Oseni alleged that the security
agents broke his gate while he was away on the day they came to arrest him, at
about 5pm, and waited for him.
"They even arrested a friend that
was in my company at that time. I will not mention his name because he is among
those in detention in Kenya."
Kenyan wife works with Kenyan army
Owoseni who arrived in Nigeria with
nothing, told Sunday Sun that like many other Nigerians, he was married to a
Kenyan and they had a child, Micheal. He stated that his Kenyan wife, Damaris,
who works for the Kenyan army, was still at work when he was arrested, and they
did not allow him to communicate with her before he was deported. Like the
other deportees, he urged that the Nigerian government should not let all their
struggles in Kenya to be in vain.
Another Deportee speaks
Also forced out of Kenya, was
Oluwatosin Adebiyi, an indigene of Oyo State, who was arrested at midnight and
taken away in his nightclothes. "They stormed my house at midnight and
arrested me. They were about 40 armed men, and before I was taken away, they
ransacked the house and took away all handy valuables including my $20,000
cash, five phones and three ipads belonging to me and my wife. My duplex, two
cars and other valuables in the house are worth over N60 million. "The
most annoying part was that they rendered me incommunicado, disallowed me from
communicating with my Kenyan wife and children. They did not give me any option
while in detention."
They jumped into my compound around 1 a.m.
-Daniel
Another deportee, Mr Daniel, narrated
his ordeal in Kenya. "On Sunday night (June 2), about 15 policemen who
were armed to the teeth, came to my house. They actually scaled the fence like
criminals, around 1 a.m., and ordered me to open my door. Initially, I thought
they were armed robbers.
keyans are deporting? Nigerians what a shame!!! I guess somalia will start deporting too.
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