Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairperson of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, has disclosed that 20 out of the 21 Nigerians currently on death row in Indonesia are Igbos. She noted that these 20 individuals hail from a specific state in the South-East, with the remaining individual from Edo State.
Dabiri-Erewa made the revelation while addressing the unfairness of generalizing crimes committed by a few Nigerians to the entire country. She emphasized that such individuals should be held accountable for their actions, but it is wrong to attribute their crimes to all Nigerians.
In her interview on Arise News, she also addressed the ongoing 'Nigeria Must Go' protests in Ghana, calling on the host country to punish individual offenders and not tarnish the reputation of all Nigerians. She pointed out that the Nigerian embassy in Ghana has been working hard to handle cases of trafficking and other crimes involving Nigerians and Ghanaians, highlighting that the situation has improved significantly.
Dabiri-Erewa further shared her experience in Indonesia, where 21 Nigerians were placed on death row. She stated that 20 of them were from one southeastern state, while one was from Edo State. Although four of the individuals were executed, she commended the efforts of Nigerian authorities, particularly the intervention of Barrister Emmanuel, who helped save one of the prisoners.
Despite the grim situation, Dabiri-Erewa cautioned against stigmatizing an entire region based on the actions of a few individuals. She also acknowledged the positive contributions of many Nigerians in foreign countries, stressing that good news about Nigerians' impact often goes unnoticed while negative stories dominate the media.
"Bad news travels fast," she concluded, emphasizing the need to focus on the positive contributions of Nigerians globally.
