Killings: FG warns parents against sending their children to Northern Cyprus schools

By our reporter| The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on Monday warned parents against sending their children to schools in Northern Cyprus.

This follows several incessant and mysterious killing of Nigerians in the country.

Dabiri-Erewa who gave the warning when she received a delegation at her office, led by Justice Amina Bello, mother of a Nigerian student, Ibrahim Khaleel, who was allegedly killed in that country, called on parents to be weary of sending their wards to Northern Cyprus as the country is not recognized by the United Nations except the Republic of Turkey.

According to her, Nigeria has no diplomatic ties with the country.

The NIDCOM boss, also called for blacklisting of the country given the preponderance of Nigerian students who have died mysteriously in Northern Cyprus without any prosecution or compensation whatsoever.

“The time has come for us to blacklist all these Universities in Northern Cyprus and advise our students from seeking any form of admission there as it portends danger to their life and future”.

She further stated that the death of Khaleel, a third-year engineering student, is one out of the incessant killings involving Nigerian students in the country and reeled out 15 names of Nigerians from a list of more than 100 killed in the country.

She said, “The death of Ibrahim Khaleel should be the tipping point to a stop in the killing of our children anywhere in the world, particularly Northern Cyprus.”

“It is not only Ibrahim. Kennedy Dede 28, Augustine Ngok, Gabriel Sorewei, Osabanjo Owoyale, Augustine Wallace, Stanley Eteno, Hassan Babatunde, Temitayo Adigun, and Kubat Abraham are just a few of the ones that we even know.

“The problem is that most Nigerian parents do not know that Northern Cyprus is not recognised by any country in the world. It is not a UN-recognised country. It is only recognised by Turkey.

“That is why we have not been able to do much. Who do you report to? Thousands of Nigerian students are schooling there and I tell you that hundreds have been killed. Who do you take these cases to?

“And they are killed in similar circumstances. The school just tells you ‘well, they committed suicide’ and nothing happens.

“We are going to list all these names of Nigerians that have been killed and we demand justice. There has been no prosecution and no compensation. No Nigerian parent should send their children to any university in Northern Cyprus – there is a collaboration which we do not understand that makes them kill blacks, particularly our Nigerian students.”

While assuring the mother of the deceased student that the commission would work with her to demand justice for her son and other Nigerian students killed while studying in that country, Dabiri-Erewa revealed that the case had already been transferred to INTERPOL through the office of the attorney general of the federation.

“We have written the NUC. The key thing is to blacklist Northern Cyprus and to stop our children from going to that country to study,” she said.

“We will be working with the NUC to list all the universities in Northern Cyprus and blacklist them. We cannot be letting them kill our children.”