Over 1000 Nigerians are being held in inhumane conditions
in a warehouse in Saudi Arabia over issues concerning incomplete residency
papers, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on its tweeter on
Thursday.
A Nigerian who spoke to the BBC Hausa
Service from the General Service detention centre at Al-Shumaisy, near Makkah,
said hundreds of them are being detained under “unbearable condition” for over
two weeks, claiming that no Nigerian consulate official had visited them.
“At least, we are Nigerians. There
are about 1,000 of us here in the detention facility, including women and
children. We spent at least two weeks here. Some of us could not even perform
five daily prayers because they are sick and they are not receiving any medical
attention. They put us under air-conditioner and everybody is shivering because
of cold,” one of the detainees said.
He said that they were detained along
with nationals from Niger, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Mali and Pakistan, among
others; adding that unlike Nigeria, other countries have since come forward to
pick their nationals.
He claimed that they couldn’t reach
Nigerian consulate officials. “We could not reach Nigerian officials since we
were detained here. We were asked to come out, and we obeyed. But they are
keeping us here, “he said.
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