Secondus Seeks Stiffer Penalty On Indonesia; But Country Says Diplomat Was The Aggressor

By Adesina Soyooye

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, has joined the outrage which greeted the humiliation of a Nigerian Diplomat by Indonesian Immigration Officials.

An utterly humiliating and disgraceful viral video of the  diplomat showed the Immigration Officers pinning him down on the back of a car and, he, screaming inelegantly and  echoing late America’s George Floyd’s “I can’t breathe” repeatedly.

An embarrassed Nigerian Government, through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Geoffrey Onyema, recalled the Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia and the humiliated Diplomat  to Nigeria for consultation. The duo arrived Wednesday. Onyema, also, summoned the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria where he protested the treatment meted out the Nigerian.

He promised other actions could follow.

But Indonesia is on the defensive. Its Ambassador after an expected apology and a promise of a thorough  investigation, revealed that the Nigerian diplomat was the Aggressor and deliberately looked for trouble.

He explained that the Immigration Officers were on a mission to round-up illegal immigrants. When they ran into the diplomat, he refused to either show them his passport or any other papers on request. Instead, he opted to follow them to their office in their car. But in the car, he felt he was being taken to somewhere else, so,  he began to scream, and, allegedly, picked an object and started hitting on the window of the vehicle to attract passers-by. In the process, he was, alleged, to have  wounded an officer on the lips, prompting others to restrain him.

Reports say he thought the officials were kidnappers.

But Secondus, outraged by the uncivilised treatment, by the Indonesian officials, just like most Nigerians, including serving and retired Ambassadors, has called on the Federal Government “to apply the stiffest penalty on Indonesia over the humiliating treatment of a Nigerian diplomat by the Indonesian security officials.”

In a statement signed on his behalf by his Media Adviser, Ike Abonyi, Secondus

expressed “deep discontent on the matter”, and “charged Nigeria Government to apply no constraints in responding to the unprovoked and unwarranted manhandling of the Nigerian diplomat.”

According to the statement  released on Thursday, “the PDP National Chairman said no Nigerian should receive such dehumanizing treatment more so to a diplomat who enjoys some privileges while on duty to any country.

“He said every reasonable step should be taken including recalling Nigeria Ambassador to Indonesia and/or the expulsion of their ambassador here if adequate remorse and commensurate punishment is not meted out to those Indonesian officials.

“Prince Secondus expressed sadness that under the reign of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nigeria has been debased and her nationals flagrantly insulted and humiliated abroad.

“This needless insults on Nigerians must stop, I know that APC misrule has helped to aggravate this unfortunate development, but we must protect our humanity in the comity of nations.

“He said that this ugly development is a fallout of the internal handling of rule of law in Nigeria by the ruling government who has blatantly done things that are not within the purview of decency and law.

“The PDP leader said that the dignity of Nigerians abroad must be reestablished using the Indonesia case as example to other nation harboring any phobia against Nigerians, pointing out that the World is watching to see how Nigeria handles the Indconesia assault on her.”