Members of the Nigerian Citizens Association of South Africa (Nicasa) have staged a protest in Parktown, Johannesburg, advocating for an end to alleged police intimidation, torture, and extortion faced by Nigerians living in Gauteng.
The demonstration, held at Peter Roos Park, saw participants brandishing placards with slogans like “Stop destroying our property,” “Torture is not constitutional,” and “Being a Nigerian is not a crime.”
Frank Onyekwelu, the president of Nicasa, addressed the grievances, highlighting incidents of robberies targeting Nigerian-owned businesses and asserting that such acts would no longer be tolerated.
The protest culminated in a march to the office of Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela.
“We are taking a stand against that and saying it should not happen any more. We have written a memorandum to hand over to the commissioner to make sure our voices are heard,” Onyekwelu said.
A focal point of their protest centred around the recent death of a Nigerian, Izowa Nat, while in police custody at the Johannesburg central police station.
Nicasa representatives urged a thorough investigation into Nat’s death, suspecting the police’s involvement.
They also underscored the challenges faced by Nigerians in obtaining travel permits from South Africa’s Home Affairs department, leading to further harassment and extortion by law enforcement.
“Many citizens have applied for permits but have not received them and that leads to harassment and extortion of money. When they get you on the road they tell you they want money and if you can’t give them [money] they beat you up. We are saying, enough of that.
“We take a stand that being a Nigerian is not a crime but brutality is a crime. Injustice is a crime. We are saying we don’t want this to continue,” he said.
