Nigerian ambassadors apprehensive over torture of diplomatic officer

They urged the federal government to show that foreign service officers anywhere in the world are safe, sound and free from any kind of harassment.

The 2020 non-career ambassadors of Nigeria, currently serving across the globe, have expressed apprehension over the safety of foreign service officers following the unwarranted attack of a Nigerian diplomatic officer by the Indonesian immigration officials.

They urged the federal government and other world bodies to show, in handling the matter, that foreign service officers anywhere in the world are safe, sound and free from any kind of harassment.

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In a statement, signed by the Captain for Class 2020 Non-Career Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and High commissioner to the Republic of Zambia, Amb Ominyi Nwannebuike, they said the attack was a deliberate violation of the rules of diplomatic engagements as enshrined in Article 29 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

They further stressed that the unprovoked barbaric manhandling of the Diplomat was not only a violation of his rights but also a deliberate attempt to puncture the sovereign integrity of Nigeria as the pride of Africa.

“The convention expressly states that the person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention.

“The receiving State shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom, or dignity.”

“Article 31 of same convention provides that a diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state.

“These being the case, there is absolutely no circumstance under which a diplomatic agent should have been subjected to such torture and humiliation by state operators.

They, therefore, demanded adequate compensation for the officer for the aggravated assault he suffered.

Reacting further, the ambassadors warned that; “notwithstanding these interim measures, we urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Assembly and every other critical and relevant arm and agency of government to deploy all means necessary to ensure the prompt procurement and execution of justice against the unprovoked, barbaric, and inhuman treatment of the diplomat by officers expected to have been trained in the discharge of their duties.”