THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
A total of 32 persons, including some single mothers and their children, were deported to Lagos by German authorities on Wednesday (10 August). The deportation flight, which took off from Hanover, is the sixth of such charter flights this year.
According to the information published by a migrant support organisation, Refugees4Refugees, the deportees, consisting of 22 from Germany, 9 from Austria and 1 from Poland, were profiled by the Nigerian Immigration Service on arrival in Lagos and were then taken, accompanied by police officers, to a hotel, where they would be quarantined for a week in accordance with Covid-19 regulations.
Refugees4Refugees has criticised the German action in view of what it describes as the “catastrophic economic situation” in Nigeria. Moreover, many of the deportees had been working and living in Germany for more than five years and had done nothing wrong, the organisation said in a statement.
“Apparently, they are to be deported quickly before they take advantage of the so-called ‘right of opportunity to stay’ (Chancen-Aufenthaltsrecht), which is to be passed in the Bundestag in autumn,” it added.
“The living condition in Nigeria is catastrophic, inflation is driving food prices to unaffordable levels, hunger is rampant. The security situation is worse than ever. Boko Haram terror, violence, attacks and kidnappings create a climate of constant fear,” Refugees4Refugees said.
READ ALSO Germany to grant residence permit to tolerated asylum-seekers
“The deportees end up being destitutes on the streets of Lagos. Single women, children and sick people are particularly at risk,” the refugee rights group added.
“Against this background, we call on the federal government to stop the deportations immediately. All your talk about ‘European values’ only sounds cynical to our ears as long as you deprive people of their life perspectives.”
Sola Jolaoso
READ ALSO Widow of Nigerian murdered in broad daylight in Italy cries for justice
