Nigeria on Tuesday condemned as “extremely distressing” and “unacceptable” stories that Nigerian citizens in China had been maltreated because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, during a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian in his office in Abuja, said:
“There were videos circulating on social media of very disturbing scenes and incidents involving Nigerians in the city of Guangzhou,”
Onyeama stated that it seemed Nigerians were being discriminated against at hotels and restaurants and being stigmatised as supposed carriers of Coronavirus.
“We saw images of Nigerians in the streets with their possessions and this was of course extremely distressing for us at home,” he said.
He said the situation was “unacceptable” to Nigeria’s government and people, and needed “immediate action” from the Chinese government.
The ambassador revealed that China was taking the matters the minister raised with all seriousness.