“What I do know is that the German authorities are aware of IPOB, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria. They are aware that IPOB are registered here as an entity and, therefore, it is up to them to decide whether they should take action on such an entity that has registered here and begins to attack Nigerians on German soil. So, we wait to see.”
The Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Yussuf Tuggar, says the Nigerian government is hoping that the German police will prosecute the attackers of Ike Ekweremadu.
Tuggar said this in an interview conducted by Rouna Mayer, a Nigerian journalist living in Germany.
In an excerpt of the interview published on Premium Times, the ambassador said: “I am waiting to see what is going to happen. For us, this is a litmus test. I cannot sit here and vouch for the German police. I am still trying to understand how they work. This is the first time we are having this experience.
“What I do know is that the German authorities are aware of IPOB, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria. They are aware that IPOB are registered here as an entity and, therefore, it is up to them to decide whether they should take action on such an entity that has registered here and begins to attack Nigerians on German soil. So, we wait to see.”
Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has attacked Ekweremadu when he visited Germany to attend a programme organised by the Igbo community in the country.
The ambassador said the attack was not a protest but an attempt to cause bodily harm to a Nigerian official.
“There is no political protest that will push the supposed protesters into physically touching and assaulting another human being. Anywhere that happens in the world, it is a crime and some people need to be brought to book.
“So, quite honestly, I fail to understand how the issue of peaceful protest comes into this. If they were on peaceful protest, they would have come to my office with placards and said what they wanted and left.
“And the police are there. But you cross that line in any country and place your hand on any individual trying to cause harm. What I do know is that in some countries, first and foremost, they would be arrested and they have the right to bail.
“But when the police are there and witness something like that, one would expect arrest will be made and thereafter bail can be arranged and the investigation goes on, and if there’s the need to prosecute, then they get prosecuted,” he said.
