A Nigerian on Twitter, identified as Dinchi, has shared her experience and those of other Nigerians after they were reportedly detained at the airport in Dubai and their passports seized.
In the video which was shared in the early hours of Wednesday, Dinchi said the incident happened the same day.
According to her, they were held in a room for hours without an explanation after they arrived the middle east city.
One of the stranded Nigerians could be heard in the video saying “We are stranded in Dubai, there are so many of us, somebody should help us please.
“We are calling on FG and other Nigerians to come and help us. We are citizens of Nigeria locked up in Dubai.”
In the same video, other Nigerians were trying to explain their plight to an official who insisted they get out of his office.
In another tweet, Dinchi said her sister later ensured she was released.
“My sister had to go through immigration to get me released. It was a tedious process,” she tweeted.
“Others are still there and I don't know their status. What happens if you have no family here? Nobody knows what is going on.”
There have been other reports of Dubai officials refusing entry to young Nigerians after they land at the airport with valid visas.
This may not be unconnected with recent reports of Nigerian cult clashes in the city.
NIDCOM Aware of Situation
Nigeria Info reached out to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), whose Public Relations Officer, Gabriel Odu said was aware of the matter.
He noted that it is being handled by the Nigerian Consulate in Dubai.
“The matter is being handled by Nigerian Consulate in Dubai.
“They want to know the identity of all those people. They want to know if they are truly Nigerians or if there are other nationalities there.
“So that they know who they are dealing with. There are even children among them.
“When the consulate finishes the profiling, those that are willing to come back to Nigeria, they will send back to Nigeria, those that have legality of stay in Dubai will stay in Dubai,” he explained.
