TheCable

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), says two Nigerian students detained in Bosnia will soon be released.

In a statement released on Friday, Dabiri-Erewa said the students are hale and hearty and are expected to return to Croatia from where they entered Bosnia, in preparation for their return to Nigeria.

The two students of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), identified as Uchenna Abia and Kenneth Eboh were among the team that attended an international table tennis competition in Croatia and ended up in a Bosnian refugee camp.

They arrived Zagreb, capital of Croatia, on November 12, for the fifth world inter-university championship.

However, authorities in Bosnia reportedly detained the duo in an immigration facility after they were arrested in the streets for failing to produce relevant documents.

Dabiri-Erewa said while five of the students went for the table tennis event without the knowledge of the Nigerian Table Tennis Federation, two have returned while another has already applied for asylum.

She added that their imminent return was sequel to series of diplomatic interventions from the Nigerian mission in Hungary as well as efforts by Geoffrey Onyema, minister of foreign affairs.

She said the Nigerian mission has taken steps to ensure that the matter is resolved while Onyema has ordered an investigation into the alleged maltreatment of the students.