News
Xenophobic Attack: Protect Nigerians In Ghana, FG Tells Envoy …As Ghana Shuts 50 Shops Belonging To Nigerians
Following the xenophobic attacks against some Nigerian traders in Accra, the Federal Government has asked the Ghanaian government to protect Nigerians residing in Ghana.
The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa made the demand during a visit to the High Commissioner of Ghana to Nigeria, Rasheed Bawa, at the Ghanaian High Commission in Abuja, yesterday.
She expressed concerns over the attacks on the businesses of Nigerians in Accra by some disgruntled Ghanaians who were protesting the alleged involvement of some Nigerians in the abduction of two Canadians and other criminal activities.
The Presidential aide accused the unknown Ghanaians of attacking and destroying shops belonging to Nigerians, stressing that the relationship between Nigeria and Ghana should not be allowed to deteriorate.
She demanded assurances from the Ghanaian government on the safety of Nigerians living in the country, insisting that their investments should also be protected.
Dabiri-Erewa said: “We have come to demand the protection of Nigerians in Ghana and to ensure that the xenophobic attacks against them don’t re-occur. The whole nation should not be maligned and attacked for the crimes of a few. We want assurances that the attacks on Nigerians and their businesses will not occur again.”
Bawa in his response, assured that everything necessary was being done to protect Nigerians in his country, adding that President Nana Akufo-Addo had ordered the deployment of policemen and soldiers to protect Nigerians.
He also explained that three Ghanaian youths had been arrested for alleged involvement in the attacks on Nigerians, adding that the relationship between Nigeria and Ghana would not be allowed to suffer.
The envoy attributed the attacks to the security challenges facing the country which he said manifested in a series of abductions carried out by some Nigerians and their Ghanaian accomplices.
Bawa stated: “What happened three days ago was shocking. Some Ghanaians took laws into their hands and locked up the shops of some Nigerians, but nothing was vandalised and the President has directed an investigation. The President would not allow the relationship between Ghana and Nigeria to be destroyed. He was in Abuja during the Sallah to celebrate with President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Meanwhile, Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Rashid Bawa, yesterday urged Nigerians doing business in his home country to carry on their trade without fear of molestation from any quarter.
Bawa gave the advice at the High Commission in Abuja during a meeting with a delegation from the Nigerian Diaspora Commission led by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
The envoy’s advice is coming against the backdrop of an attack on Nigerian spare part dealers by their Ghanaian counterparts in the Suame Magazine Industrial Enclave in Kumasi.
This follows the closure of shops operated by Nigerians after indigenous Ghanaian spare parts dealers in the area protested against the continuous operation of foreigners in the retail trade.
About 50 shops belonging to Nigerian spare parts dealers were locked up by agitated Ghanaians, who said they would not sit down and watch while foreigners flout the laws governing retail marketing in their country.
The envoy said that President Nana Akufo-Addo had directed security agencies to be on top of the situation and had urged Nigerians to resume their trade without any fear.
The high commissioner, who described the attack on the Nigerian spare parts dealers as very unfortunate, said that the attacks occurred because some young Ghanaians took laws into their hands.
He, however, said some people suspected to have been involved in the incident had been arrested.
He further said that the matter had been brought under control and that security agencies are working hard to ensure that the issue did not get worse.
The high commissioner explained that Ghana had been having security challenges in the past six months, citing alleged kidnapping.
“When a crime is committed between individuals, it is not between nations. So this should not be allowed to create anxiety between Nigeria and Ghana,” he said.
He appealed to the media not to destroy the relationship between both through provocative reportage of happenings.
Speaking earlier, Dabiri-Erewa had told the high commissioner that Ghanaians were living and working in Nigeria as well.
She, therefore, expressed the hope that the high commissioner would assure Nigerians in that country of the safety of their lives and property.
“We need assurance on the protection of Nigerians. We have Ghanians living in Nigeria and we treat them as brothers and sisters,’’ she said.
She told the envoy that the Nigerian government would like to be informed of any Nigerian who committed crime in Ghane.
“We should know, who they are; we should know, who those people are that are giving the country a bad name. Nigerians should not just be criminalised,’’ she said.
She also urged the media not to sensationalise the situation. Dabiri-Erewa also led a delegation from the commission to another meeting with Lene Dimban, the Togolese Ambassador to Nigeria.
In the course of the meeting, she asked for assurances of the safety of Nigerians living in Togo.
Responding, the ambassador assured the delegation that Togolese authorities would ensure that the incident that happened in Ghana did not occur in Togo.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two long trailers heading for Kano as it intensified efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer in Rivers State, a businesswoman linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and other suspects in coordinated operations across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states.
The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday.
According to the statement, the latest intelligence-led operation came barely one week after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of tramadol concealed in the false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.
Babafemi said, “Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through Benin Republic into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move One Million Six Hundred and Thirty (1,630,000) pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos.”
He added that one of the two trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor.
Babafemi said, “One of the two trucks already heading to Kano was tracked and located on 2nd July 2026 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver Jabir Kabiru.”
He further disclosed that another trailer was intercepted two days later on the same route.
“Two days later, 4th July, NDLEA operatives acting on processed intelligence successfully tracked and recovered the second trailer from the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano. A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the truck were evacuated and the 22-year-old driver Muhammed Nuhu arrested,” the statement read.
According to Babafemi, investigations established a link between the three intercepted consignments.
He said, “Investigations revealed that all three trucks and consignments intercepted on 21st June, 2nd July and 4th July belong to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria axis.”
The agency also intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Babafemi said, “Two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a combined weight of 4.70 kilograms have been intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The cargoes, which arrived the Lagos airport from Canada in cartons with ‘Odugwu’ boldly written on them, came aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24th June and 3rd July respectively.”
He said two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments, while another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was apprehended after arriving at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has denied claims that it has commenced registration for a purported ?50,000 National Support Allowance.
The ministry, in a public notice posted on its official X handle, yesterday, described messages, links and websites advertising the alleged programme as fraudulent.
It urged Nigerians to disregard such claims and verify information only through official government channels.
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has NOT commenced registration for any ?50,000 National Support Allowance,” the ministry said.
It added, “Disregard fraudulent messages, links and websites claiming otherwise. Verify any info only through official govt channels.”
The alert is in response to a circulating scam flyer that falsely claims the program is ongoing under President Bola Tinubu’s directives.
The fake advertisement, which includes text in Hausa and English, directs victims to a suspicious website (kluspz.com) for applications.
The ministry’s warning comes amid heightened concerns over digital fraud targeting vulnerable populations seeking social support.
Similar scams have previously surfaced around programs like N-Power, prompting questions from citizens in replies to the official post.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its preparedness for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, hinted at this while making his remarks at the commissioning of the Comrade Godwin Abumisi Pensioners Legacy House and Multipurpose Hall in Abuja.
Ajaero said it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
He advised workers and pensioners to get prepared for the ideological and economic battles that lie ahead.
According to the NLC president, “The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is one of the proud affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Therefore, your struggle is our struggle, and your welfare remains a priority for the organised labour movement.
“We are currently in the preparatory stages for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
“However, let me state unequivocally that it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
“Accordingly, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not only push for a new national minimum wage but will also demand the establishment of a national minimum pension. It is a historical injustice that men and women who devoted their youth, strength and productive years to the service of this nation should be condemned to live below the poverty line after retirement.”
Ajaero noted that the cost of living has risen astronomically as food, healthcare and transportation have become increasingly unaffordable.
“We cannot continue to allow our senior citizens to survive on pensions that have become poverty wages. Every retiree deserves to live with dignity after decades of faithful service to the nation,” he said.
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He said the completion of the project should serve as a clarion call to all workers and lovers of the masses.
“We must not only build physical structures but also build a strong movement capable of compelling government to honour its commitments,” he said.
Ajaero further stated: “We will continue to demand the immediate payment of all outstanding pension arrears and the implementation of a pension regime that guarantees every retiree a life of dignity and security.
“Together, we shall continue to fight until every Nigerian worker and pensioner receives the justice, respect and welfare they deserve.”
-
News5 days agoNDLEA Intercepts 1.63m Tramadol Pills, Arrests 80-Year-Old Suspect
-
Oil & Energy5 days agoNCDMB Partner Renaissance To Train 300 Youths On oil, gas Skills
-
Oil & Energy5 days agoAbia Secures $145m Investment Commitment To Establish Solar Manufacturing Plant
-
News5 days agoFG Alerts Nigerians Of N50,000 Allowance Registration Scam
-
Oil & Energy5 days agoRivers Senator Faults NNPCL Over Repeated Absence From Crude Theft Probe
-
Oil & Energy5 days agoLocal Crude Shortage Crippling Nigerian Refineries – MAN
-
Oil & Energy5 days agoIndia Is Becoming the World’s Refining Swing Producer
-
Oil & Energy5 days agoFuel Imports Surged By 207% In June — NMDPRA report