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.
The authorities in the southern German state of Bavaria have announced that a Nigerian who went on a rampage recently at an Anchor Centre (Ankerzentrum), a big holding camp for refugees, has been deported to Nigeria.
The news was broken on Thursday to the Bayerischer Rundfunk by the Bavarian State Office for Asylum and Repatriation (Bayerische Landesamt für Asyl und Rückführungen).
According to the authorities, the 19-year-old has been returned to his home country “over the last few days” along with 15 other Nigerian and 15 Afghan asylum-seekers.
Observers believe that the Nigerian, whose asylum application had been rejected, was among the 20 Nigerians deported on 19 August.
The video clip of how the man (see end of article for link to the video), armed with a wooden object, damaged the windscreens of 12 cars belonging to employees of the Anchor Centre in Donauwörth went viral on 12 July. The damages he caused by his action amounted to over 50,000 euros, according to the police.
READ MORE Nigerian deportees from Germany narrate their tales of woe in Lagos
An employee of the Anchor Centre had filmed the rampage scenes from a window and posted them on the Internet. The video went viral.
The exact motive for the action of the Nigerian, who was on an awaiting deportation list when he committed the offence of wilful damage to property, is still unclear. And it has not been revealed if he was of a sound mind when he committed the offence.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE RAMPAGE HERE
Migration experts have always called on the authorities to pay more attention to the mental health of refugees, many of whom are believed to be traumatised by their irregular journey to Europe, having suffered physical abuses and witnessed the suffering and death of fellow migrants.
Felix Dappah
