The Nigerian Senate has resolved to issue an arrest warrant for Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), after she repeatedly failed to appear before the Senate’s Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
This action follows complaints of absenteeism and allegations of bias in her handling of sensitive ethnic issues in the diaspora.
NN News Media reported that Dabiri-Erewa has come under fire for selectively addressing cases that involve ethnic tensions. Recently, she publicly released a photo of Amaka Patience Sunnberger, a Nigerian woman in Canada, whose viral audio clip threatened violence against Nigerians of Benin and Yoruba descent. However, in her release, Dabiri-Erewa omitted an important segment of the audio, which featured Kingsley Ugiagbe, a Benin man in Austria, inciting violence against the Igbo by calling for the killing of Igbo children both in Nigeria and abroad. Sunnberger’s threats were reportedly a direct response to Ugiagbe’s inflammatory remarks.
In a related incident, the Edo Union in Austria, led by President Mr. Nosa Aifuwa, suspended Ugiagbe for his call to violence against the Igbo. However, NiDCOM’s formal petition to the Canadian government only focused on prosecuting Sunnberger, overlooking the threats from Ugiagbe, leading to accusations of ethnic bias.
Dabiri-Erewa has also faced criticism for her silence on a different controversial audio clip circulating among Nigerians, particularly in the South-West region. This clip features a man and woman of Yoruba descent calling for a united African front against the Igbo community, accusing them of tarnishing Nigeria’s global reputation with fraud and other criminal activities. Many saw Dabiri-Erewa’s failure to condemn these comments as another sign of her bias.
Adding to the controversy is her handling of the case of Emma Ihejirika , a Nigerian who was recently freed from death row in Indonesia after being wrongfully convicted of drug trafficking. While Dabiri-Erewa praised Nigerian lawyer Emmanuel Isha Ogebe for his legal efforts in securing Ihejirika’s release, she failed to mention that the conviction was due to a case of mistaken identity. This omission further stoked concerns about her alleged bias against the Igbo.
The Senate’s decision to issue an arrest warrant was spearheaded by Senator Neda Imasuen, Chairman of the Ethics Committee, during a plenary session. Imasuen expressed frustration over Dabiri-Erewa’s repeated refusals to honor the committee’s invitations to address petitions filed against her by aggrieved Nigerians. The motion, brought under Senate Order 42, was supported by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who cited Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers the Senate to issue arrest warrants against any official who refuses to appear before it.
“You already have the power as provided by Section 89 of the Constitution. Please use it by issuing a warrant of arrest against any head of agencies refusing to appear before the public petition committee,” Akpabio said.
Following this, new letters were sent to Dabiri-Erewa, warning that arrest warrants would be issued if she failed to attend future hearings.
The Senate’s move reflects broader concerns over Dabiri-Erewa’s accountability and perceived ethnic bias in the administration of NiDCOM, which has triggered significant public and legislative scrutiny.
Nigerians reactions
Amid growing concerns over selective justice and ethnic bias, Igbo communities in the diaspora have been urged to distance themselves from Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM). This call comes as criticisms intensify regarding Dabiri-Erewa’s perceived favoritism in handling cases of ethnic discrimination involving Nigerians abroad, particularly those affecting the Igbo community.
Many Nigerians argue that Dabiri-Erewa has shown bias in addressing incidents of ethnic tension, selectively pursuing justice in cases that do not involve the Igbo people.
Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, and Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, both condemned the incident and called for justice for all parties involved.
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) condemned the dangerous rhetoric of Kingsley Ugiagbe, a Nigerian man based in Austria, who, in a disturbing TikTok audio, called for violence against Igbo children both in Nigeria and abroad. HURIWA urged Nigerian authorities to treat Ugiagbe’s case with the same urgency and commitment as they did with Amaka Patience Sunnberger, a Canadian-based Nigerian who faced arrest after advocating for the poisoning of certain Nigerians in response to threats against her ethnic group.
Barrister Ejiofor also expressed deep outrage over Ugiagbe’s inflammatory statements, describing them as an alarming call for ethnic violence. He, like many others, criticized Dabiri-Erewa for her silence and failure to address the threats against the Igbo people with the same intensity she displayed in pushing for the prosecution of Sunnberger.
Prominent human rights activist Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo also called out Dabiri-Erewa for what he described as her “selective pursuit of justice“. Omirhobo urged her to address threats against the Igbo community within Nigeria with the same vigor she has shown in cases involving other ethnic groups, particularly Sunnberger’s case.
Similarly, activist Aisha Yesufu joined the chorus of criticism, questioning why Dabiri-Erewa was so eager to seek the prosecution of Sunnberger while taking no equivalent action against those calling for violence against the Igbo. Yesufu and other critics have raised concerns about the unequal treatment and lack of urgency in addressing threats aimed at the Igbo people.
