FG tells Indonesia to punish officials who assaulted Nigerian diplomat

The Federal Government has called on the Indonesian government to punish the officials who assaulted a Nigerian diplomat in Jakarta, the capital of the Asian country.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama after the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Usra Harahap was summoned twice.

Mr. Onyeama told journalists on Tuesday, August 10 that the unfortunate incident was against international law and the Vienna Conventions governing Diplomatic and Consular Relations between states.

A viral video sparked a Nigerian diplomat been harassed by some immigration officials in Jakarta sparked outrage from Nigerians as Mr. Onyeama immediately summoned the Indonesian ambassador on Monday.

According to him, the foreign affairs ministry immediately contacted the Nigerian ambassador in Indonesia when it noticed the video of the diplomat restrained by his neck in a moving car on social media, Peoples Gazette reports.

The minister further stated that the ambassador also confirmed that the assault occurred during a round-up by Indonesian immigration officials while searching for irregular and illegal migrants in the country.

“The first thing the ministry did was to request that the ambassador submits to the ministry a full and comprehensive report of what happened,” said Mr Onyeama. “And to immediately reach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia to lodge a formal and a strong complaint against the actions of the immigration officers as their action violated the Vienna Convention.”

While further stressing that the action was a clear breach of the Vienna Convention, Mr. Onyeama said it was “an act of egregious international delinquency.”

Mr. Onyeama added that the foreign affairs ministry was taking necessary steps to assure Nigerians that the government would defend the interest of Nigeria and its citizens anywhere in the world.

“We call on you all to be patient and calm as we get fully to the bottom of this for our ambassador to arrive and for consultations to take place, and we assure you that an appropriate response will be forthcoming,” said Mr. Onyeama.