FORMER Senator representing Kaduna Central and President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, Shehu Sani, has slammed the Nigerian government for issuing a statement to justify the conviction of a Nigerian, Dunchi Lar, by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities.
Lar was convicted by the UAE government for breaching cybercrime laws in the country.
A statement signed by the spokesperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Abdur-Rahman Balogun, noted that under the UAE cybercrime law, taking a video or photograph of someone without his/her consent and posting such on social media is an offence punishable with one year jail term or a fine of between approximately $69,000 and $137,000 or both jail term and fine.
“This law also applies to eavesdropping, recording, photographing, or disclosing audio or video communication of a person without his/her permission, taking photographs or videos of a dead person or accident victim without such person’s consent,” Balogun stated.
Reacting, Sani tweeted @ShehuSani: “While the US is demanding for the immediate and unconditional release of one of their citizen, Brittney Grinner, jailed in Russia for such a grave offense of narcotics; Our Government Agency is cunningly bending towards justifying the jailing of our Citizen in the UAE; Dunchi Lar”.
Other Nigerians have also criticized the statement issued by NiDCOM, stressing that Lar risked her personal freedom to inform the public about the maltreatment of Nigerians in the country and deserves to be protected by the government.
James Boka Benedict wrote: “Why are we laying more emphasis on her crime but not the reason behind the crime. Do their so called law warrant them to detain anyone for commiting no offence? If not for her boldness would you and I be aware of what was going on with our citizens over there?”
Similarly, another Twitter user Oluwatomisin stated: “At what point did the Nigerian mission step in when they were refused entry into Dubai for days and had to sleep in the airport without having their baths and brushing their teeth? Someone made a video to show what was happening and this is the statement you release?”
However, the NiDCOM spokesman Balogun added that Lar had 15 days to appeal the judgment.
According to him, she has been assured of moral and consular support by the Nigerian Mission in Dubai.
Meanwhile, a total of 540 stranded Nigerians in the UAE were on Sunday evacuated by the Federal Government in an operation coordinated by the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NiDCOM, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Refugee Commission.
The evacuees consisting of 79 males, 460 females and three infants, were given $100 each as support by the government.