so so sad!

May his soul rest in peace

Honestly I think what we need to do in Nigeria is tit for tat. No amount of protest will stop these people. They,ve done it before and are more than likely to do it again. I hope the M.E.N.D boys can deal with at least one spanish citizen in the niger delta

My heart breaks for Nigeria

Do our young people have to go through this?

If only my country was better...

Oguzie,

thanks for posting this information. Even animals would never be transported in this manner. What an outrage! We can chose to pray, lament and sympathize over this murder of a compatriot or we can mobilize and call attention to this inhuman act.

Pleez don't start telling me that until Nigeria puts it's own house in order, we cannot point out injustices perpetuated against our brethren.


What can you do as an individual? You can write or email a complaint to
1. all the new and old senators/members of rep
2. the Nigerian ambassador to Spain and the Ministry of Foreign/External Affairs
3. Editors of Nigerian newspapers
4. Civil liberties organizations

Nigerians on the ground can demonstrate in front of the Spanish Embassy in Abuja. Even if it is for a day, it is important that we speak out against such barbarism. If people can organize themselves to save the wales or whatever animal they fancy, surely we can mobilize ourselves to save fellow Nigerians.

Can you please get more details from your friend, li.e the name of the fellow? This will be of real help, when writing and discussing with others about this issue.

....... humanity is lost, what we have left is just plain wickedness and mediocrity. This ought not to have happened.

The story is in the news. So sad.

Oguzie, Only people on the ground in Spain and Nigeria can spearhead an action. The only thing we can do is spread the word. Or maybe draft a protest note that can be forwarded to the Spanish authorities. Any other ideas?

Hmmm,

This is very very sad...

Hmmm,



Purple,
We can, but, unfortunatly there is a BUT! If our Nigerian Embassy in Spain does not say a word, then its tough to get the Spanish cops to change. Can you imagine such happening to an American or British citizen? It actually could, but I gurranttee you that thier embassies would scream till hell freezes over.

From the report posted above, the guy may have been no saint, but he was still a human being and deserved better. If he was resisting arrest, he could have been restrained in a more humane manner and locked down on his seat the plane.

My suggestion: Figure out who the spanish cops were and sue them to court for the crude and inhumane treatment of a fellow human being, also have them docked for murder or manslaugter or negligence resulting in manslaugter. Can the village lawyers, DW, Tonsoyo, Ula-lisa, Soul Sizzling please advise? I for one will be more willing to contribute to a fund to prosecute the erring policemen.

Oguzie,
What are the laws in Spain? Writing letters will only bring political words of apology and the same thing may happen tomorrow, if the police are sued for human rights abuses, that will make them wake up.

If this is true, then the guy was a bad ambassador for Nigeria and deserved what he got.

''The 23-year-old Aikpitanhi, who was being deported with three other Nigerians, was wanted in his home country for rape and murder and had a string of violence charges in Spain.''

This is so terrible!! Even in death they are still desecrating his memory. Even if the trumped up allegations are true, does that mean he should be murdered? How can you tie someone up, gag him, cover his head and not expect he might suffocate and die when he's not a magician

This was almost exactly how another Nigerian (Coker) was murdered in London a couple of years ago. The story repeats itself all around the world.

This is so agonizing. Nigeria is losing all her potential leaders unceremoniously and the Nigerian authorities seem to just turn a blind eye and still pander to the whims of the so called colonial masters.
In Nigeria, until oyinbos are treated as human beings (not mini gods) and probably treated the way they treat us they will not stop this maltreatment.

This is becoming all too common? So were there no other ways to restrain him? This is just way too sad!

do nigerians have to go through this?

I am short of words simply because one isn't sure of how to make sense or fight for justice by mere punching the keyboard, especially in the light of the fact that the Nigerian embassy in spain and the relevant authorities in Naija may not do much. Now the press in Spain has put a murderer and rapist tag on the guy just to make it look like he was such a dangerous person that the officers had to go all out to "stop" him and in the process, ... unfortunately he swallowed the tag in his mouth, and... bla bla bla, died.

To think that people will prefer to go through hell in a foreign land, rather than stay in their country looks farfetched, but that's exactly the case with Nigerians.

Oguzie, I must confess I lack both the words and strength to profer a solution.

(Ednut, sure you can be of service to the Spanish authorities)

Quote:
The 23-year-old Aikpitanhi, who was being deported with three other Nigerians, was wanted in his home country for rape and murder and had a string of violence charges in Spain.

If this is true, then the guy was a bad ambassador for Nigeria and deserved what he got.

I Know EDNUT must have mistyped the above quote noone derserves death regardless of what the person has done and has these charges been confirmed by any one that he was wanted in Nigeria for these crimes it is very easy to say a dead man was a bad seed becos he is not alive to defend himself Regardless if a person is being deported they still need diginity not to be treated like a rabbid Dog i am so sorry to hear this and i feel something should be done.When people leave Nigeria they leave to better themselves
yes he was illegal but hey that does not mean he should die some of us need to realise
because we have the right to be abroad does not make us better and some of us can be deported from nigeria so lets not point any finger at one person.

please keep us updated and i hope something can be done

If the allegations are true, I don't even want to hear about the story. Rapist, murderer, illegal immigrant? My God. Is there anything this man didn't do?

The investigation in this case should be focused on if the man would have choked on the tape had he remained calm.

The investigation in this case should be focus on if the man would have choked on the tape had he remained calm

Afeni does that really matter they should not of taped him in the first place so he should not of choked on any tape in the first place they were deporting him that enough was making him upset treating him less than a human being made matters worse and what happened to innocent before proven guilty but in this case he will never be able to prove him self innocent he is DEAD!!!!
the people were wrong period no ifs buts or ands about this issue. If this was another citizen from any other country they would be explaining to the government now But our Dear Comrades at the spainish Nigerian Embassy i am sure are suffering and smiling.
something needs to be done

According to reports, the police resorted to beating him away from public view until they s...[URL=http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/index.php/content/view/6325/55]Read the full article.[/URL]

@ Ednut and Afeni, this has to do with the loss of human live.

Lets forget the story the spanish press are coming up with as evidence has it that Aikpitanhi of a guy was charged for the only crime of being an illegal immigrant which according to spanish immigration law requires that you leave after a certain period when you are served with notice to leave spain after a certain period. If on this process you fail to leave and get rearrested, you stand the chance of deportation.

Mr Aikpitanhi died a horrible death according to eye witness that saw his corpse as he was littered with sh.....t inside his trousers to tell you how he struggled before death.

Accordingly the pilot protested to the authorities more espescially after the determined protest by nigerian passengers aboard the aircraft. He(Pilot) even refused to continue with the journey the next day in protest of what happened to the poor chap

These things have been happening before now like we all know but what we are saying is that it has to stop.

@All latching on to alleged crimes of the late Aikpitanhi, I ask you what sense does it make to use rumours to quash fact?

The young man is dead, and he was killed because he is a Nigerian (considered by most, to be a faulty nation with self hating citizens like those quick to say 'he deserved it').

We witnessed and campaigned vigourosly in the 80's and 90's when many black young men were being snuffed out in UK police cells and detention centres. Change happened, albeit, the table had to be turned on a number of occassions!

Passivity and emphasizing our differences on this issue must not be tolerated. For a change, let's all unit and be our brother's keeper.

Aikpitanhi's fate can happen to anyone of us or a person close to us as we share the hallmark black skin.

Until we understand our fellow human beings, aka human behaviour,
We will always ask “WHY”.
When you deal with a human being remember the rules, he/she either
respects you or fears you, there is nothing in-between; if they do not
respect you or are not afraid of you, they will abuse or use you.

We are the happiest people on earth; we do not cause trouble, we always
do as we are told. Does this all sound familiar? These words are
condescending , they keep us on the leash, they ensure we are always
placid and agreeable.

We need to show some Teeth! Abused at home, abused abroad because
they know we will take the abuse without responding in kind.

In 2003 a Pakistani national was killed by racists in Georgia-one of the
former Soviet Republics. When word reached Pakistan that one of
theirs had been killed; they attacked the Georgian embassy and killed
a couple of Georgian citizens.
Unfortunately the racists who killed Osamuyia are full of hate and only
understand the language of violence. I have seen people fight and struggle
whilst being apprehended by the cops. They do not get tranquilised and
gagged with industrial masking tape; they are overpowered by large numbers
of policemen then cuffed.

From what I have read here this guy was treated like a mad dog because he
was black and Nigerian. We really need to start reconsidering our attitude
to those who treat us as lesser beings, we have to show some Teeth!

This is a most horrible way to die. The treatment was extremely inhumane.

In general, the laws of most countries recognize that law enforcement officers may use reasonable restraints to effect the arrest of a suspect, depending on the circumstances. So, if someone is resisting a lawful arrest or trying to escape, you may see handcuffs or leg restraints. But, everything has to be done within reason and will depend on the circumstances. So, even if the police needed to prevent him from biting them in order to get him onto the aircraft, did they need to keep him that way? And, why would they use a gag that could be dangerous to him? If indeed, they needed a gag to get him onto the aircraft, there are so many different types of gags available to them, why the type that he can choke on?

The primary complainant in this case ought to be the Nigerian Government, represented by its Embassy in Spain. Has the Embassy made a statement or lodged a formal complaint with the Spanish Government? Perhaps the Ambassador is busy escorting one of the wives of a high ranking Nigerian government official to a plastic surgeon for a tummy tuck!

It beggars belief that there does not seem to have been an immediate reaction from the Nigerian Government. It just beggars belief. I do not know the exact position in Spainish law, but I would be very, very surprised that, as an EU country and as a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Spanish laws would permit the law enforcement officials to conduct themselves as they did in this case. Arrested persons have human rights? You don't treat someone like an animal just because you have reason to believe that s/he has violated the law!

Well, since I am not aware that the Nigerian Government has taken up the issue, I think the first thing is for the leaders of the Nigerian community in Spain (hopefully they are more organized and well intentioned than their peers in Lebanon) to issue a well reasoned statement condemning the handling of the matter.

In my opinion (which is subject, of course, to the opinion of those on the ground), the statement should not make its central focus the fact that he was Nigerian or Black. While the facts of race/nationality cannot be avoided, it seems to me that the real kicker to this issue was the inhumane treatment to which he was subject under cover of governmental authority. Spain is obligated under international law, and most probably, its national laws, to respect human dignity and not to permit its law enforcement agents to treat people in the manner this man was treated. While this is an emotional issue, emotive statements that wax lyrical about race and nationality are not enough. Although there seems to be a discrimination element based on race and nationality, I think that is harder to prove. Whether he is Black or White, the treatment to which he was subjected is unacceptable. In my mind, it is just a question of how the statement is structured to hit the notes that will resonate with the Spanish Government and send a message that the community will not hesitate to use the European human rights system, if neccessary.

Also, there is a need to liaise immediately with Spanish human rights NGOs. These NGOs ought to be appalled that this kind of thing is happening in their country. If one can get a Spanish human rights NGO to take on the issue, it will help greatly. If there are Spanish arms of Amnesty International and Human Rights First, they should be alerted.

Oguzie, are there Nigerian lawyers in Spain who can immediately take sworn statements from the people who witnessed the events? The lawyers don't even need to be Nigerian, but it is important to get, as comtempraeneously as possible, detailed statements in memorialized form. Do you know whether anyone acting on behalf of the deceased has taken such statements? The media sound bites that we have are insufficient. Unfortunately, some of the people with relevant information might be illegal immigrants themselves so they may be unwilling to come forward.

Also, do you know whether the Spanish Government has an Ombudsman type of body or a Police Complaints Commission type of body? It is not uncommon that if one has a complaint about the acts of a government agent, one has to go through the administrative process of complaints through such bodies before you can take it out to the wider redress system through the courts.

Even if the man was wanted for murder and rape, that is a red herring in this case. Does a murderer or a rapist lose his right to human dignity? What does that have to do with anything? They were not deporting him because Nigeria requested that he be extradited to answer for those crimes! If so, Nigerian officials would have gone to Spain to take custody of him and bring him back home. And, all this would have been avoided. No, they were deporting him because he was allegedly in violation of Spanish immigration laws and now they are spitting on his grave by bringing up totally unrelated matters, which may even be untrue. This is another reason why the silence of the Nigerian Government is so galling.

I will do some web searches later today. If I find anything helpful, I will update this post.

Soul Sista a/k/a Soul Sizzling

If you want to hang many dogs, give one a bad name and the rest can be taken care of. If anyone thinks a Nigerian have to be a murderer, rapist or illegal to be treated this way. That person wants to bury his or her head in the sand. What about those Nigerians that are born in Spain, it can happen to them?
I will be the first to agree that good behavior is much easier to defend than allegation of bad behavior. Do not be fooled though, they will do the same to you. You you not have to be a Brazilian who was shot dead as a terrorist in London, all they need is an excuse.
Where is Nigerian Embassy in all of this, where are the Nigerian diplomats? Nigerians in Spain, even though your hands are full, please organize, I know you can not do it alone. Rapist or not, murderer or not, those convicted of murder are put to death more humanely.

[I]Even if the man was wanted for murder and rape, that is a red herring in this case. Does a murderer or a rapist lose his right to human dignity? What does that have to do with anything? They were not deporting him because Nigeria requested that he be extradited to answer for those crimes! If so, Nigerian officials would have gone to Spain to take custody of him and bring him back home. And, all this would have been avoided. No, they were deporting him because he was allegedly in violation of Spanish immigration laws and now they are spitting on his grave by bringing up totally unrelated matters, which may even be untrue. This is another reason why the silence of the Nigerian Government is so galling.

Soul Sista a/k/a Soul Sizzling

you talk true, i hope something is done

Nigerians are not patriotic! Nigerians are not patriotic!! ad infinitum

Tell me how do you want Nigerians to be patriotic when they would rather prefer to die in foreign countries than be deported peacefully back to the hell they call a country.

The most annoying is the usual silence of our foreign missions in cases like these. These are people being paid to protect Nigerian citizens wherever they may be. It is a very big shame!!!

If this were an American citizen, it would have resulted in a very big diplomatic row, that no other nation would dare do such to the country's citizens again. But then, Americans don't go abroad to assume illegal citizenship status. Their country ensures that by paying even those who are out of job.

Weep not for the dead, weep for the country that cannot take care of her citizens.

This is completely and utterly outrageous. Whatever he was, whatever he did, the European Community legislation and Court of Human Rights is obliged to hear this case and to punish the offenders. There must be an official appeal from the Embassy to the European Court to seek justice and compensation for this behaviour. Both IATA and the ICAO have rules on the treatment of passengers on planes. They might well be approached. Is this the way one treats people who are alleged to have committed crimes? If so, there are a lot of Serbians and Croats, Sudanese and Rwandans who can expect to be beaten and strangled travelling to Europe. It is not right.

I'm short of words! For how long will we continue to tolerate these people. After they'll start preaching human rights to Africa.

Just last week, I woke up and turned on my TV and the first news on all Russian channels was that six Russians have been abducted in Akwa Ibom in Nigeria and that the Russian embassy in Nigeria is already looking into the case. Nigeria's Ambassador to Russia was immediately invited to the Foriegn Affairs Ministry for explanation, and yesterday, our Ambassador to Russia held a press conference to throw more light on the issue and to assure the Russian government that all is well with their citizens. Since then they've been putting pressure on Nigeria on how to realese their citizens. Nigeran government needs to learn from these countries in taking immediate action to protect its citizens.

I think we have to stop this our culture of been too good and hospitable to these oyinbos and even some other African countries such as Kenya that treats our compatiots shabbilly.

@ Soul sista, there are no known Nigerian practising lawyers as my finding can reveal but i am trying to see if its possible to get incontact with the civil rights group and other relevant NGO's in spain to help.

That said its even a pity we are not hearing from villagers resident there in spain.

Mikky my brother what can we say? There hasnt been a word from the nigerian govt and even the ministry of foreign affairs in Abuja but we are doing all we can to sensitize all stakeholders more espescially the Nigerian press.

It might even interest us to know that a word hasnt been heared from civil liberty groups in nigeria.

La verita fa male !!

This is what we are saying, there should have been immediate action on the part of our government through the embassy in Spain. You see, if you do not respect your citizens then how do expect foriegners to do so. That's one of the reasons we are being treated this way 'cause they know that our government doesn't care for us.

As at now everything is still silent. I'm suprised!

If this had happened to an Arab/Islamic citizen the Spanish embassy would have been torched to the ground. They would have described it as an attack on Islam and a jihad declared on all Spanish citizens as they did in the Danish case.

It is times like this that our waste of space freeloading mallams in the north should have come in and attacked all Spanish citizens including their assets in Nigeria.

This has to be a tit for tat/s or we risk getting these sorts of incidents randomly going forward.

There is so much we can do, flood the Nigeria's embassy and the Spanish websites with protests, and let them know how disgusted we all felt. Is not a crime to seek greener pastures, when you lack the opportunities in your own country. Spain can never forget its own emigration history and what they did to the American Indians.
I know for sure our useless government will do nothing, but we can expose the Spainish barbarism.

I sent info on this murder to 4 Nigerian papers yesterday via the contact emails from their website. All but one were sent back undeliverable.

It will be beneficial if NVS can have a resource page listing the UPDATED contact info of:
Nigerian newspapers
Nigerian senate
The Presidency
Nigerian ministry of External Affairs
Nigerian Embassies worldwide
The Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria
Nigerian State governors
NGOs and Civil liberties organizations
Some foreign media types, ati bebe lo

As suggested by other villagers we do need to contact relevant government persons and push for reforms. We can organize ourselves if we are better resourced and work as a unit. If villagers flood certain agencies and offices with emails and letters protesting inhuman treatment, we may get some respect. If The Nigerian government will not use its voice, ordinary Nigerians will.

We know Nigerian Govt and Embassies do not care about us...but enough of being treated like dogs all over the world. Who knows who will be the next victim if this is allowed to continue?

Can someone HERE at NVS please BELL THIS CAT? Soul Sista, ILN, Bishop Ula-Lisa, Wayo Guy and other lawyers in the house, (Most Especially ILN): Can you please help us draft a protest note to the Spanish authorities...