Nigerians residing in the UK have expressed concern over the current assaults on immigrants within the nation, saying they really feel threatened and unsafe.
Britain has been plunged right into a sequence of protests that erupted early final week following the loss of life of three younger women in a knife assault in Southport, northwest England.
The police arrested a 17-year-old male because the suspected killer of the sufferer. Nevertheless, hearsay quickly unfold that the suspect was an Islamist migrant.
Consequently, a number of thousand far-right natives gathered close to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Avenue workplace in Central London to protest.
The protest quickly become riots as safety brokers arrested 100 suspects.
There have been riots in additional than 20 cities throughout Britain, together with Sunderland, Plymouth and Belfast.
Protesters attacked mosques, buildings housing asylum seekers, automobiles and homes, together with a library, which was set ablaze. Outlets have been additionally looted.
Starmer warned that the rioters can be sentenced inside every week.
Regardless of the peace of mind given, some Nigerians informed Saturday PUNCH that the rioters focused immigrants, and a few houses belonging to Nigerians have been attacked.
A Nigerian engineer residing in London, Toyyib Adelodun mentioned, “London has been usually secure, however the Nigerian neighborhood is feeling unsafe in locations the place the riots have been intense like Middlesborough and Plymouth. We’ve reported assaults on some Nigerian houses and a few folks couldn’t go away their homes for some days.”
One other Nigerian IT skilled, Dr Evelyn Okpanachi, blamed the riot on misinformation.
“It’s deeply saddening to witness the rise in violence within the UK, particularly the unjust focusing on of immigrants. Misinformation has fueled unrest throughout cities. Whereas legislation enforcement is doing its greatest to intervene, extra have to be performed to finish this violence,” Okpanachi added.
One other Nigerian pupil at Cambridge College, who spoke on situation of anonymity, mentioned Black British weren’t excluded from the assaults.
The supply mentioned, “I really feel threatened as a result of it’s focused in direction of immigrants. Even the immigrants who’re already residents are additionally focused as a result of they aren’t whites. I really feel threatened as a result of it’s been violent and lives have been misplaced.”
Additionally, a senior lecturer in London, Dr Oyedele Ogundana mentioned, “As a Nigerian and an individual of color, it’s pure to really feel involved for one’s security and that of family members. Nonetheless, we stay hopeful that peace might be restored.”
However a realtor, Maxwell Adeyemi, who lives in Bradford, mentioned the unrest didn’t get to the ward, including that there was peace within the space.
He mentioned, “The stress has created panic nearly all over the place within the UK. Nevertheless, my space in West Yorkshire, the town of Bradford is calm. I can say it’s the headquarters of immigrants within the UK.”
The British Excessive Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, assured that Nigerians within the UK are secure.
Montgomery spoke on Wednesday throughout a gathering with the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Fee, Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
The envoy mentioned, “We won’t, as a rustic, settle for discrimination or assaults towards any neighborhood.”