VIDEO: Nigerian Consul In China Confronts Chinese Officials For Passport Seizing

 

The head of the Nigerian Consulate in the Guangdong province of China, Razaq Lawal, attacked Chinese officials after the Nigerian Government caught wind of the seizing of passports of Nigerian nationals in China.

In a video circulating on social media, the consul was seen dialoguing with a Chinese official, accusing China of wrongly discriminating against Nigerians and subjecting them to illegals quarantine exercises.

Razaq said that Nigerians who recently travelled to China were subjected to 14 days quarantine even after testing negative for the first round of 14 days isolation.

Razaq said, “COVID-19 started in Wuhan, China. When Chinese travelled to Nigeria that time, Nigeria didn’t quarantine them. These are the people that are living in China, they are not business men. That is what I’m telling you when you say money or life. They are here.

“All the people that came from Nigeria for business, they are entitled to go for 14 days quarantine in line with what you sent to us as your policy. We agree with that.

“All these people, when they finish the 14 days quarantine, they give them a paper of release. Why are they still giving them another 14 days quarantine again? It is not acceptable. The first 14 days is attestable by us, another 14 days, you didn’t communicate with us. They have tested negative and they have given them the paper. Why are they doing another 14 days?”

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Lawan likened the seizing of the passport to “seizing Nigeria as a whole."

He said, “This passport belongs to the federal government of Nigeria. In line with international practice, no country has the right to seize the international passport of another country. I just withdrew it from them, they seized it. Why are they seizing Nigerian passports? It does not belong to China. If you seize Nigeria passport, it’s like you’re seizing Nigeria as a whole. It is not acceptable.

“You didn’t communicate to us that you’re going to go to all the Nigerian houses, ask them to come out and quarantine them. If you want to do your policy of 14 days, shut down everybody, don’t discriminate. Everybody should sit at home, including Chinese and you as a director. That is exactly what Nigeria did. We didn’t say only Nigerians should go to work while the Chinese are quarantined. No!”