Abuja - The Federal Government has summoned the British High Commissioner in Abuja Mr. Bob Dewar over the March 27 incident where over 100 Nigerian passengers were ordered off a Lagos-bound British Airways (BA) plane for protesting against the brutal treatment of a Nigerian deportee.

The visit may not be unconnected to the commencement of a probe ordered by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua going by the Citizen Diplomacy posture of the government that it would not tolerate maltreatment of its citizen under any guise.

Speaking at the meeting with the British Envoy, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe said that the comprehensive and deep goodwill enjoyed by Nigeria and Britain through their bilateral relationships have always been built around dialogue and must be consolidated. He stressed that, Nigeria do not intend, as a friend to wait for problems to occur before going into discussion.

“The British government has expressed considerable interest in the incident and promised to ensure that Nigeria gets appropriate results,” he said.

Maduekwe however, appealed to the British Envoy not to let the issue blow out of proportion, adding that the reactions to this issue should be temperate.

“This is because Brittan is one country we want to maintain close relationships with but it must be clear —  Nigerians, wherever they are must be treated with dignity.

In addition, Nigerians in Diaspora should be law abiding and must comply with their host country’s laws.   Nigeria would protect its citizen even when they are indicted because they have rights that must be respected”, he maintained.

In his comment, the British envoy who appreciated Nigeria ’s contributions to global conflict resolutions through her peacekeeping efforts however promised that it is the responsibility of his home government to impress on its business community to be of best practices.

While he thanked the minister for briefing him on the incident, he affirmed “on this particular incident, I have taken careful notes from the minister and I have undertaken to find out more about it. We are keeping a close watch on it.”

Source: The Punch

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