Nigerian Students studying in Malaysia have
written an open letter to President Jonathan
seeking his intervention in what they described
as the continued injustice meted on them by
the Malaysian police authorities.
The students under the aegis, National
Association of Nigerian Students Asia, in their
letter which was signed by the President of the
association, Prince David O.C Nwaogwugwu,
cataloged cases of undue police harassment
faced by some Nigerian students and also
accused the Nigerian Consulate staff in
Malaysian of being non-nonchalant towards the
harassment and victimization they have faced
in recent times. Continue...
Nwaogwugwu said;
"Nigerians are now constantly being
duped of their tuition fees and falsely
accused of crimes not committed by the
institutions they study in, their
apartments being regularly raided even
without warrants, blackmailed and set up
for the purpose of extortion, falsified
evidence accepted by judges against
them in courts which are presented by
the police and prosecutors, deported by
the immigration authorities for the
failure of the institutions of learning and
the same immigration departments who
fail to quickly process the renewal of
Visa for these Nigerian students who
have handed in their passports for
weeks, months and even years.
"There are several cases where police
officers in connivance with school
security personnel’s, local and foreign
agents and lawyers go after students who
they believe have financial backing at
home. They blackmail such students and
threaten to put them in trouble if they do
not pay certain amounts of money. Some
of the students who refuse to be
oppressed by such threats are then
arrested, taken to court and false
evidence presented against them. In the
courts, the prosecutors do not allow the
students to speak in protest or self
defense. The proceedings in Malaysia
courts against Nigerian students are
carried out in the Malaysia language of
which Nigerians schooling in Malaysia
are not mandated by any law to study
Malay and therefore do not understand
what the prosecutors are telling the
judge or what the judge is saying to the
court” he said.
Some of the cases involving Nigerian
students includes
Among the cases listed by Nwaogwugwu
was that of Nkem Okpa, a research
student who was detained for 11 days on
mere suspicions three years ago.
There were other cases:
1. Gabriel (2010): Arrested on the street
and thrown into a bus with some people
who had been arrested for drug
possession. He had never met the other
people arrested with him before. Gabriel
was in Sungai Buloh Prisons until 2013
when the culprit pleaded guilty. Gabriel’s
entire life has been ruined for nothing.
2. Oyewole (2013): Student arrested for
not being in possession of his passport
which had been submitted to his school
for visa renewal. The Police went ahead
to carry away cloths and electronics in
his apartment.
3. Segun (2013): House mate to Oyewole.
They were arrested together and their
possessions stolen by the police.
4. Adeniji (2013): A student arrested and
deported while his passport had been
submitted to school for renewal.
5. Victor (2013) Student arrested on the
school campus for being in possession
of drugs he knew nothing about. His
house mate confirmed he was set up. In
court, the police presented false
evidence against Victor. Victor refusing
to be blackmailed by the schools
security and the police inspector in
charge of the case spent about 3 months
in remand until his parents told him to
plead guilty and be done with it. The
High commission was informed but
nothing was done about it.6.
Bartholomew (2013): Arrested for a
crime he knew nothing about. Evidence
and witnesses prove his innocence but
he is still locked up in Jail and the
Nigerian High Commission is saying
nothing.-Body Number : 313….
7. Umar Garkida (2013): Arrested from
his hostel, false evidence of drugs
presented in court against him. He has
refused to be intimidated to plead guilty
and has been in jail since November
while the High commission and his
school are silent.
8. Fahat Sanda (2013): Arrested from his
hostel, false evidence of drugs presented
in court against him. He has refused
intimidation, refused to plead guilty to a
crime not committed and so has been in
jail since November. The school and
High commission are silent.
9. Umar (2014): Arrested from in front of
his hostel by the police. Asked for his
passport which he had submitted to the
school for renewal of Visa, he stated his
case and presented his ID as the Student
Rep President alongside his student ID,
but the police insisted on arresting him
unless he paid some bribe. Umar called
Mr Banum the head of the school
security to come and identify him as the
Student Rep President, but he never
came. The police officer then arrested
Umar and took him to the station and
threatened to put him in trouble. Umar
then succumbed to the threat and paid
Rm300 to regain his freedom on the
spot. On returning to the school
premises, Umar confronted Mr Banum
to know why he refused coming to
identify him but there was no response.
He then requested that the money he
paid be refunded of which Mr Banum
said he will refund him and write a
petition against the officer in question.
Till date, nothing has been heard about
the issue.
10.. Several Nigerian students in
February 2014 were arrested within their
school premises by the police and
immigration personnel’s for not being in
possession of their documents which
had been submitted to the school and
hence immigration for renewal. The
School ignored these students for about
2weeks to suffer in detention and the
High Commission did nothing.
Nwaogwugwu also listed in the letter
death cases involving Nigerians
1. Onoche Martins (March 2012): Master
degree student. Killed by Malaysian
Police personnel’s after he allegedly
outraged the modesty of a 43year old
lady by hugging, kissing and exposing
himself by 11am. These accusations do
not make sense to any sane being.
Nothing has been heard from the
Nigerian High Commission.
2. Solomon Okolo (March 2013): Student
from Delta state. Killed by Malaysian
citizens in the presence of Malaysian
police officers after crashing his vehicle.
His wife was at the scene of the incident
and to date, nothing has been heard
about that case or the culprits. The High
commission is silent.
3. Tunde Adelabu (March 2014): A
Student Killed by Malaysia policemen
who ran away after shooting him. Later
on, the policemen came back and
arrested Tunde’s friend who had
witnessed the shooting. Today, nobody
knows where this boy has been taken to
or if he is still alive. The school he
attended are now denying he was ever
their student. The High commission is
still silent.
4. In India on the 25th of March 2014,
Two Nigerians were found stabbed on
Devli Road, New Delhi. One of them
succumbed to injuries and died while
the other is at the AIIMS Trauma Centre.
5. In Malaysia, a Nigerian died in
detention camp sometime in March. The
Nigerian High Commission was invited
for the burial or which they attended
without contacting the family of this
Nigerian. The family of this Nigerian back
home believes their son is alive
somewhere. The High Commission
should give reasons for their action
The students are asking that Mr President
intervene in the matter.
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