Indonesia’s foreign ministry expressed its regret on Thursday over the manhandling and assault meted on a senior Nigerian diplomat by immigration officers in Jakarta, which prompted Nigerian government to recall its ambassador to Abuja for consultations. Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said the ministry regretted the incident on August 7 and was communicating with the Nigerian government on the issue. “That incident was an isolated incident and does not have anything to do with Indonesia’s commitment to performing its duties as a host country as per Vienna conventions on diplomatic relations,” Faizasyah said. “The law and human rights ministry has launched an internal investigation as a follow up to that incident,” he added. Faizasyah said a meeting took place between the ministry and the Nigerian ambassador on Wednesday where they discussed "good relations" between the countries.
A video of the incident, which trended on several social media platforms and sparked outrage from many users, shows the visibly distressed diplomat being manhandled and restrained inside a vehicle by several men.
“I can’t breathe, he says at one point in the video, yelling out as his head is pinned to the seat.
The Nigerian diplomat, Abdulrrahman Ibrahim, it was gathered was on Saturday arrested and tortured by the Indonesian immigration officers after he went out to shop at a supermarket, without his Identification card and passport which were not with him during his visit to the place.
The Indonesian police officers reportedly did not listen to his plea and he was forced inside a vehicle where he was manhandled and started suffocating as a result of the assault.
A foreign ministry spokesperson, Esther Sunsuwa said in a statement on Wednesday that “The Nigerian government demands appropriate sanctions against the relevant officials and has recalled its ambassador in Indonesia for consultations, including a review of bilateral relations.”
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said it condemns the assault on the Nigerian diplomat.
