The
Nigerian Government says it has written to the Italian Embassy asking it why
the 26 migrants recovered from the Mediterranean were buried nine days before
the agreed date.
The Senior
Special Adviser to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike
Dabiri-Erewa, told a news conference in Abuja on Monday that three bodies were
identified as Nigerians.
Dabiri-Erewa
said that time was not given for adequate identification of the girls and
feedback on investigations carried out by the relevant authorities in Italy
adding that the government would investigate at the “highest diplomatic level”.
“It was
shocking to watch the burial of these migrants on television, I think on Nov.
17, because the information from the Italian Embassy to National Agency for Prohibition
of Trafficking in Persons was the fact that these girls would be buried on Nov.
26.
“We are
asking the Italian authorities, and we have communicated a letter through the
Italian Embassy here in Nigeria, why these girls were buried nine days before
the agreed date.
“Secondly,
where are the results of the pathological tests that were done, who conducted
the DNA tests and how do we now identify that all 26 girls were Nigerians?
“From
available information coming from Italy as I speak, about three girls can be
identified to be Nigerians.
“Did Italy
get the permission to go ahead with the burial of these girls no matter their
nationalities?
“We appeal
to the Italian authorities, we are going to take this up at the highest
diplomatic level and we are going to get answers.”
She said
that 64 migrants were involved in the accident with many bodies unaccounted for
and more questions to be answered by the Italian authorities.
She added
that the Director-General of NAPTIP was currently in Italy working out further
communications on the next step to take.
“The fact
is at the other end, they are not willing to save irregular migrants anymore so
it is going to get tougher and dangerous.
“Yes, the
administration should do the needful but the most important thing is
awareness.”
A
representative of NAPTIP, Mr Abdulrahim Shaibu, Director, Legal and
Prosecution, said that the burial of the 26 dead migrants was a violation of
agreements shared by both countries.
“Between
Nigeria and Italy, we have a Memorandum of Understanding and a cooperative
agreement with anti-mafia; they are supposed to give us all information
concerning our victims as well as any trafficker they get.
“On this
particular issue, we relied on their information that these girls would be
buried on Nov. 26 and this is in violation of the agreement to exchange
pre-information so our government will have to take it up.”Shaibu also said
that the agency was doing a lot to sensitise Nigerians to the dangers of human
trafficking.
“This
mishap is one too many and that is why we are asking state governments to back
our efforts and create programmes that would involve the youths to engage them
productively.”
The bodies
of the 26 migrants were discovered on the Mediterranean by a Spanish Warship,
Cantabria on Nov. 5 and were all females between the ages of 14 to 18.
A funeral
was, however, held for them in Salerno, Italy on Nov. 17.
-NAN
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