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Assault on Nigerian diplomat ‘isolated incident’, ministry says
The altercation, captured in a video that went viral on social media earlier this week, prompted the West African nation to recall its ambassador and review its diplomatic ties with Jakarta.
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An Indonesian immigration officer and a Nigerian diplomat shake hands at an immigration office in Jakarta in a picture taken this week, with Nigerian ambassador-designate to Indonesia Ari Usman Ogah acting as a witness. (Courtesy of the Jakarta Law and Human Rights Agency)
T
he Foreign Ministry has expressed regret after a Nigerian diplomat was forcibly restrained by immigration officers last weekend, with a spokesperson asserting that it was an “isolated incident”.
The altercation, captured in a video that went viral on social media earlier this week, prompted the West African nation to recall its ambassador and review its ties with Jakarta.
The origin of the video, which showed Indonesian immigration officers pinning a Nigerian man down in the back seat of a vehicle, is still unaccounted for.
“I can't breathe,” the man says at one point in the video, in a scene that is reminiscent of footage of late United States citizen George Floyd in the lead-up to his death at the hands of a police officer in May, which sparked widespread international outrage.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry, which later described the man in the video as an “accredited Nigerian diplomatic agent” in Jakarta, said the incident was in violation of international law, particularly the Vienna Convention, which governs conduct in diplomatic relations.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the government regretted the Aug. 7 incident and was continuing to communicate with Nigerian representatives.
“That incident was an isolated incident and is in no way related to the Indonesian government’s commitment to fulfilling its obligations as a host country in accordance with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations,” he said at a virtual press briefing on Thursday.
