The Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg yesterday said a total of 84 Nigerians fell victims of armed robbery attacks last year at the O.R.Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Consular Officer-in -charge of Nigeria Community Relations, at the consulate, Mr Chris Iruala, made this known in an interview with the Southern Africa Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Johannesburg.
He said the victims included a former presidential candidate, whose names he, however, refused to disclose.
``This number only represents those who officially reported their robbery cases to the consulate and who were issued the emergency travelling certificates (ETC),''Iruala said.
Although he said Nigerians were not the only victims of those unabated robbery attacks at the airport, Iruala, however, decried their frequency.
``It is becoming more of an embarrassment and a worrisome issue that the number of Nigerians who fall victim is of concern to us,''he said.
NAN investigation showed that among the victims and one of those issued ETC, was a one-time presidential candidate under the defunct NRC from the northern part of the country.
Another victim was a former Managing Director of a government-owed media outfit, who was attacked and left stranded,with all his belongings and money taken away by the robbers.
A consulate source told NAN that the actual number of victims should be in the neighbourhood of 500.``Some either do not bother to report or do not know where and what the proceduresare.``But you only get to know and hear of it when other Nigerians talk about it when they come to the consulate for passport or for other official matters,'' the source added.
President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, Mr Jason Usuanfor, corroborated the story.
He said: ``With all modesty, the number of Nigerians robbed last year in this country either at the airport or those followed and eventually robbed cannot be less than 1,000.
``We are only appealing to Nigerians to always be conscious of their environment and be onthe alert at all times when they are cominginto South Africa.''
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