Nigerian High Commission to India has requested Meghalaya government to consider release of its 12 nationals languishing in the jails in Shillong and Jowai.
Betrand Tochukwu Ikwuka, a representative of the Nigerian High Commission met Alexander Laloo Hek, the minister for Prisons at Shillong and sought his intervention for the release of 12 Nigerian nationals.
All the Nigerian nationals were arrested for illegally entering India from Bangladesh. Six of them are in Shillong jail, while the others are in Jowai.
The arrested Nigerians are languishing in prisons in Meghalaya even after completing their six-month jail terms.
“Eight months have passed since March and our friends are still languishing in jails here. We are waiting for orders from the Meghalaya government or the Ministry of External Affairs,” Ikwuka, a student leader based in Bengaluru, said.
A judicial magistrate in East Jaintia Hills district on February 13 had reportedly ordered that the Nigerians be deported.
It has been reported that Inspector-General of Prisons M Kharkrang has assured that a comprehensive report will be prepared.