Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyema, has summoned the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Usra Hendra Harahap, over the brutalisation and humiliation of a Nigerian diplomat by Indonesian Immigration officials.
It is unclear what led to the incident but the official was harassed in front of the Nigerian diplomatic mission in the Asian country, on Saturday.
Reacting to the ugly development, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Indonesian envoy confirmed that the incident happened in his country and he tendered an apology.
According to the statement by the Ministry, “before the envoy was summoned, Nigerian government had also sent an official protest to the government of Indonesia.
“The government of Indonesia has apologized to Nigeria over the manhandling and arrest of Nigerian Embassy staff by immigration officers in Jakarta.
“The Ambassador explained what he understood what happened and apologize unreservedly on behalf of the Government of Indonesia.
“The Ambassador has confirmed that the immigration officials involved had since come to the Nigerian Embassy to apologize to the Ambassador and the diplomat concerned.”
The Ministry, while describing the incident as “unacceptable,” added that it is against international law and the Vienna Conventions governing Diplomatic and Consular Relations between States.
In a video of the incident currently circulating on social media, three men were seen wrestling a black man inside a car.
They pinned his neck to the car seat and he kept begging for help.
The men kept pressuring him as he screamed “My neck”, “I can’t breathe!”