Goa incident sparks diplomatic row between India & Nigeria

New Delhi, Nov 6: The death of a Nigerian national and the clash that followed in

has thrown open a diplomatic row between Indian and

. Indians living in Nigeria will be thrown out on streets if Nigerians in Goa are targeted, conveyed a Nigerian diplomat on Tuesday.

A Nigerian national was found dead at Mapusa near Panaji last week.

The incident triggered protests from around 200 Nigerians who blocked a highway at night. Around 50 Nigerians were arrested in connection with the incident. This subsequently led Goa chief minister Manmohan Parrikar to apparently order the police to locate foreign nationals, including Nigerians who were staying on without proper documentation.

Fearing threat to life of Indians living in Nigeria, the Centre on Tuesday leaned on the Goa government to submit a fresh report shortly on the death of the Nigerian national.

Indians living in Nigeria will be thrown out on streets, warns Nigeria

Nigeria has issued a note verbale to India conveying concerns over the security of its nationals and demanded immediate arrest of those who killed a Nigerian in Goa last week, prompting the government today to assure it that all issues will be addressed in a cooperative manner.

"There are only 50,000 Nigerians living in India but there are over a million Indians living in Nigeria. Thousands of Indians living there will be thrown out on the streets if the forcible eviction of Nigerians in Goa does not stop," agencies quoted Nigeria's consular attache Jacob Nwadadia saying on Monday.

"There is a large Indian community working in Nigeria. There are two temples in Lagos and all Indians have freedom to worship and for their other activities. We also are demanding the same," agencies quoted the spokesperson of Nigerian high commission Tokunbo Falohun on Tuesday.

The death has been linked to a feud between two gangs engaged in drug trafficking, said a Times of India report.

MEA's official spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said on Tuesday, "MEA has assured Nigeria that we have excellent bilateral relations and that the issue will be settled in a cooperative manner in line with our friendly ties."

OneIndia news

(With agency inputs)