Nigeria exonerates Ghana on demolished high commission

From Gbade Ogunwale and Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

Why property was destroyed, by chief
PDP decries incident

Nigeria government may have exonerated Ghanaian government on the issue of the demolished part of Nigeria’s High Commission in Accra.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama said the action was carried out by a non-state actor.

Onyeama said the culprit acted without the knowledge of the Ghanaian government.

He, however, said Nigeria is waiting to see how Ghana would make amend.

The minister, who was responding to a question during the daily briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said: “First, we registered our strong condemnation of the attack, which was clearly unjustified and further more under the Vienna Convention, which regulates diplomatic relations between countries. This is a clear violation of the principles of Vienna Convention.

“Now, what we can say is that it is a non-state actor that was involved. It is not government and it is not government sanctioned.”

He also promised to keep the country informed on the outcome of the unfortunate incident.

The minister had summoned the Chargè d’ Affaires of the High Commission of Ghana to Nigeria, Ms Iva Denoo, over the issue.

Onyeama stated in his twitter account that Ghana has been asked to provide urgent explanation on the attack.

The Federal Government had also at the weekend condemned in strong terms the demolition of the High Commissioner Residence.

The action, Nigeria said, is in clear violation of the extant provisions of the 1963 Vienna Convention on inviolability of diplomatic premises.

But, the Paramount Chief of the Osu Community in Ghana, Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, has explained why a building belonging to the High Commission was demolished.

In a statement, the traditional leader claimed that the land, which the building that was destroyed is on, is different from the land on which the high commission’s building is currently erected.

He said the demolished building actually belongs to an individual, who was hiding under the political influence of the Nigerian High Commission.

The paramount explained that the parcel of land approximately 1.14 acres more or less being GLPIN GA48906150010 Block 1 Section 019 situate at West Ridge is separate from that which is currently being occupied by the High Commission.

He alleged that the building that was demolished belongs to a Nigerian businessman and it was intended to be used as an event centre, contrary to reports that it was a residential building.

Also, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said the demolition had brought shame to the country.

The party blamed President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for failing to avert the demolition through appropriate diplomatic channels.

In a statement yesterday by its spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said: “Our party holds that the demolition of our nation’s High Commission is a huge contempt, which the Buhari Presidency could have stopped through engagements at the highest level of diplomatic relations, but failed as a result of sheer incompetence and incapacity to articulate our national pride before other world leaders.”

“This situation has further explained why attacks on Nigerians and Nigerian interests in foreign lands had escalated under the Buhari administration, with Nigerians being harassed and killed in various parts of the world by assailants, who take advantage of the incompetence and weaknesses of the current government in Nigeria.”

– The Nation