Abdulsamad Abubakar, a 28-year-old Nigerian student, has gone missing in Northern Cyprus.
AbdulSamad is an off-campus 300-Level International Relations student at Cyprus Science University (CSU).
This comes barely 24 hours after the management of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) issued a repeated warning against seeking educational assistance in Northern Cyprus.
However, His Excellency Hidayet BAYRAKTAR, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Nigeria, described the Commission’s advisory as exaggerated.
In response, the Commission cited 13 cases of Nigerians murdered in Northern Cyprus in the last three years.
Mrs Dije Ibraheem, the mother of the missing Abdulsamad, appealed to NIDCOM management for assistance on Friday.
The 54-year- old trader, who hails from Kogi State, said, she last spoke with her son on August 2, through another person’s phone during which he raised the alarm that ” they have come to pick me up to a detention camp”.
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She said since that call on 2nd of August, 2022 from an unknown number with her son wailing and asking for help, she has not known his whereabout or heard any news from him or the school authorities.
Confused on what to do, she reached out to the agent who secured the admission and travelling documents for her son but he was not forthcoming too .
“I was advised to write a petition to Consular and Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which I did before someone hinted me that Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa advised Nigerians to be wary of Northern Cyprus, hence reaching out to her to help me out.
“So am here today at NIDCOM to beg you in the name of God to help me bring back my son alive as I am scared of hearing any bad news about my only child. Please help me , i am a single mother . He is my only child . I haven’t slept well nor fed well since August 2nd that I last spoke with him”.
Receiving the petition on behalf of Hon. (Dr) Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Secretary of the Commission, Engr. Dr Sule Yakubu Bassi assured Ms Ibraheem that everything possible will be done to help locate her son and bring him back.
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He reminded her that diplomatic services have become difficult because Nigeria and the UN have no diplomatic relations with Northern Cyprus
Bassi, who pleaded with Ms Ibraheem to take care of her health, reassured her that further investigation will be carried out by the Commission in conjunction with the Nigeria Embassy in Ankara, Turkey
