AFRPN CONDEMNS UNCIVILISED TREATMENT OF A NIGERIAN DIPLOMAT IN INDONESIA
Oru Leonard
The Association of Foreign Relations Professionals of Nigeria (AFRPN), has
condemned what it described as an uncivilised illegal arrest and the dehumanizing strangulation of an accredited Nigerian diplomatic agent, Mr. Mohammed Buba, by the officials of the Indonesian Immigration Service as widely displayed on the social media recently.
In a press release signed by the AFRPN, Mr Adam Lawal the Association recommended an immediate disengagement of all the Indonesian immigration officers involved in such uncivilized act. He sited Article 29 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations ( 1961) which states that;
“Diplomats must not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. They
are immune from civil or criminal prosecution”
The AFRPN commended the immediate step taken by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), in summoning the Indonesian ambassador before receiving the full report from its embassy as a first step in the series of reactions reserved for such heinous diplomatic blunder.
“Equally commendable is the subsequent step taken by MFA after receiving the missions report by inviting home the Nigerian ambassador for consultation while expecting the Indonesian ambassador to tow the diplomatic avenue by equally returning to Jakarta until satisfactory explanation and necessary restitutive steps are taken by Indonesian authorities to assuage frayed nerves”, he stated
While the Ministry is still reviewing the state of our bilateral relations
with Indonesia, a robust reaction is being awaited by the Association to serve as deterrent to future occurrence of such treatment to any of our diplomats and embassy home based staffs and indeed any Nigerian citizen from anywhere across the globe.
The AFRPN also recommended that the family of the concerned diplomat must be adequately compensated materially and healthwise for the traumatic treatment meted to them while public apology satisfactory to the Nigerian people and government must be entered and an assurance against repeat occurrence must be given.
The AFRPN further noted the position of the house committee on diplomatic relations to move to invoke Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to declare everyone at the Indonesian Embassy in Abuja a persona non grata if their nation’s authorities failed to effectively explain their actions against the Nigerian diplomatic agent.
“AFRPN will like to reaffirm its support for Nigeria’s commitment
to the Vienna Convention and peaceful relations with all countries,
she should not tolerate the maltreatment and targeting of Nigerians
by foreign governments or abuse of Nigerian consular officers and
citizens under any circumstances”, the release concluded.
