Mob attacks Nigerians in Indian city

Five men arrested after violent reaction to teen’s death from suspected drug overdose

POLICE arrested five men yesterday after hundreds of angry residents of a north Indian city attacked Nigerians with sticks and metal chairs following the death of a teenager from a suspected drug overdose.

About a dozen people were wounded in the violence late on Monday in Greater Noida, a satellite city of New Delhi where hundreds of African students are based.

“Rumours were being spread that Africans are behind the youth’s death, and racist comments were made on social media,” senior police officer Sujata Singh said. “It looks racially motivated. “Five attackers have been arrested and four others are on the run.”

She said 300 people were involved in the rioting.

India’s foreign ministry condemned the incident as deplorable and said it had assured the Nigerian high commissioner that all steps were being taken to protect the country’s nationals.

Many Nigerians were targeted in the violence, which was apparently triggered by the release without charge of five Nigerian students who had been detained over the teenager’s death.

“The government is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all foreigners in India,” a ministry statement said.

“People from Africa, including students and youth, remain our valued partners.”

Singh said about 500 people had assembled for a candlelit vigil in Noida to demand justice for the teenager, and became violent after spotting a group of Nigerians.

One television station showed an angry mob hitting a car with sticks, while another showed dozens of attackers hitting shoppers in a mall with metal chairs.

Endurance Amalawa, one of the attacked students, said he was outside the mall with his brother when they saw an angry mob running towards them.

“We kept crying for help, but no one came, not even the security marshals. I was running but they followed me and attacked me,” he said.

“Some people were hitting us, pushing us out. They dragged my brother outside and [hit] him.”

Africans living in India frequently face discrimination and even violence, and are often accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade.

The issue was thrown into the spotlight after a Congolese national was stoned to death last year in a dispute over an auto-rickshaw.

After that, African ambassadors in New Delhi threatened to advise students from their countries to avoid schools in the capital for their own safety.

“The locals look at us like [we are] cannibals,” Association of African Students in India spokesman Presidoe Okujuna said.

The association is advising students to avoid classes for their own safety. “People are scared. They don’t want to come out. They want security for their lives.”

The latest attack stemmed from the death of a 16-year-old from a drug overdose.

Police detained five Nigerian students in connection with the case but were later released after police failed to find any evidence against them. – AFP