No fewer than 16 Nigerians were recently killed in Burkina Faso by the country’s soldiers as they were on their way to Kaolak, Senegal.

Development Diaries reports that these Nigerians, who were Muslim pilgrims, were members of the Jam’iyyatu Ansariddeen Attijaniyya of Nigeria.

According to reports, the national secretary of the Islamic group, Sayyidi Yahaya, said the Ansaruddeen members were ‘randomly selected and cold-bloodedly shot to death in a most horrendous display of bestiality’.

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his condolences, and also assured that Nigeria’s foreign ministry is awaiting investigations through the Nigerian Embassy in Burkina Faso.

Also, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, described the killing as unjustifiable, callous and criminal.

She also called on the Burkinabe authorities to fish out the perpetrators and prosecute them accordingly.

The issues

It is usual for government authorities or the president to ‘condemn’ such acts, but what would be unusual is letting this slide.

Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, as amended, provides that the government is primarily responsible for the security and welfare of its people, hence citizens in other countries should also be protected.

Burkina Faso has been grappling with an insurgency since 2015, led by jihadis affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

This insurgency has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of people and displaced around two million people.

It is important that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NIDCOM always inform Nigerians of high-risk areas to avoid when in foreign countries.

For the chairman of NIDCOM, it is not enough to condemn the killings. The commission needs to state what it intends to do in the area of investigation to make sure those killed get the desired justice.

The ministry and NIDCOM need to step up in their duties to ensure that Nigerians feel safe even outside of their homeland.

Photo source: AFP