Tackling growing incidences of crime by Nigerian nationals and helping the Mumbai police bring the numbers down were high on the agenda of the high commissioner of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on his recent visit to the city. Amb Sola Enikanolaiye, the high commissioner of Nigeria, even met with the commissioner of police D.D. Padsalgikar to discuss the matter with him.
Mr Enikanolaiye has apparently charted out ways to bring down the number of Nigerian nationals involved in various crimes in the city. “He met with senior officers and this was one of the top topics that was discussed,” said an officer. He is said to have been very concerned that people from his nation were involved in illegal activities, said the officer. “He asked the Mumbai police to tackle the issue with an iron hand and also assured support wherever possible,” he added.
Of late, many Nigerians have been arrested for drug peddling, credit card scams, duping people via matrimonial websites and other petty crimes. Officers are said to hesitate arresting them since they attack and throw stones at police officers when confronted. Also, nearly a month ago, around four to five officers were injured in a chase involving Nigerians that lasted for nearly an hour.
Sources said that since Nigeria does not have an embassy in the city, co-ordination and verification of the identity of those arrested sometimes becomes difficult. “There are talks of a helpline number being set up in the city. This will help the police officials to connect directly with Nigerian officers to put across queries and vice versa,” said the officer. Senior officials added that this was proposed earlier too but had been held up due to some administrative issues.
After his meeting with the police commissioner, Mr Enikanolaiye went to Mira Road to meet a local organisation of Nigerian nationals.
