29 March 2017•Update: 29 March 2017
By Shuriah Niazi and Rafiu Ajakaye
NEW DELHI, India/ LAGOS, Nigeria
A female Nigerian student came under a suspected racist attack on Wednesday by a mob of unidentified men in northern Greater Noida city in a string of such incidents being reported from the area since Monday.
Videos from Monday’s attacks, including one in which a young African man can be seen being hit viciously by a mob using metal chairs inside a shopping mall have gone viral.
Police said they were investigating the latest attack on the female student in Greater Noida, located some 40 kilometers (25 miles) away from the capital, New Delhi.
On Monday, five Nigerian students were attacked by another mob in Greater Noida. Another was reportedly beaten up inside a shopping mall by a mob.
The students were targeted following the death of 19-year-old Manish Khari, who allegedly died of a drug overdose after being last seen with some Nigerians in the city.
Racist attacks
Kavita Krishnan, a human rights activist and secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association, termed the latest incidents as “absolute racist attack”.
"It is not an isolated incident, but a part of a long series of racist mob attacks in India. What disturbed me most is that the government and officials tend to deny racist nature of the attack,” Krishnan told Anadolu Agency.
Meanwhile, the Association of African Students of India urged African students in Greater Noida to remain indoors and to even avoid talking to other people.
This is not the first time Africans have been attacked in India.
Last year, a 23-year-old Congolese national was beaten to death in New Delhi when he went to meet his friend in another part of the city.
Nigeria demands apology
Nigeria has demanded a “thorough probe” into the attack on at least nine of its citizens in India, an official said on Wednesday.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, special adviser to the Nigerian president on diaspora matters, said in a series of tweets Wednesday that the country's high commission in Delhi demanded an official written apology over the incident and a guarantee that no such attacks would occur in the future in India.
Dabiri-Erewa said two victims of the attack were still in the hospital.
“Four people already arrested. The High Commission is demanding thorough investigation and prosecution of culprits and protection of Nigerians,” she said.
She said the mob attack reportedly began after a mother of a deceased teenaged Indian boy claimed her son died after taking drugs given by some Nigerians.
“The Indian government has condemned the attack but Nigeria is demanding a written apology and prosecution of culprits,” she added.
The Indian government said it had given assurances to the Nigerian High Commissioner about the safety of their citizens in India.
Police also said it had booked more than 1,000 suspects in the case and so far, arrested five people in connection with the attacks. They also said several people involved in the incident had been identified from video clips of the attacks.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also ordered an "impartial" inquiry into the attacks on Nigerian students, urging the newly-appointed Uttar Pradesh state Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, to ensure the safety of Africans in Greater Noida.
Thousands of students live in Greater Noida, which hosts several universities and colleges.
