A spokesperson for the Spanish embassy in Dublin has denied allegations that it refused any Nigerians visas to Spain, following protests in Dublin and around the world about the suspicious death of a man on a deportation flight from Spain to Nigeria.
The spokesperson refused to give exact details on how many visas had been denied following the global protests, stating that she did not have such statistics available, but that it is “not our policy to refuse by race”.
She said there “must have been another reason” for the denial of the visas and that the refusals had “nothing to do” with protests about the Nigerian man’s death.
She also rejected any suggestion that the visas were denied on account of tensions between Spain and Nigeria.
“Even this week, we’ve given Nigerians visas,” she said, but did not have a figure available.
Benedicta Attoh, who organised the protest on Friday 29 June, said that it had come to her attention that a number of Nigerians were denied visas following the protest.
Attoh was directly contacted by two people whose visas were refused, allegedly on account of deteriorating relations between Spain and Nigeria, and that these people were told at the embassy that other Nigerians had also been affected.
She said she knew of one Nigerian woman who applied for a Spanish visa three weeks prior to the protest, but on the Tuesday following the demonstration she called to the embassy and was allegedly told she was not getting a visa on account of the protest, and declining relations between Spain and Nigeria.
Attoh said this woman was shown a copy of the letter handed in to the embassy by protesters, and was told that there is an ongoing diplomatic row between the two countries. Attoh said the woman is not politically involved, and up to that point had not heard about the protest.
The late Osamuyi Aikpitanhi (23) died on board a deportation flight from Spain to Nigeria on 9 June in highly suspicious circumstances. On the plane, Aikpitanhi’s mouth was gagged with tape, allegedly to prevent him from being violent.
The Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Angel Losada, made a courtesy visit to Nigeria’s Department of Foreign Affairs last Friday.
He commented: “It is a very serious matter and there is no justification or excuse for the death of any human being…
“Nothing justifies the death of anybody, but the person in question is not a normal Nigerian because he has been arrested 12 times for assault in Spain.”
Ambassador Losada said the incident is currently being investigated by Spain’s Justice Department.
Up to 30 Nigerians in Ireland joined the Dublin demonstration on 29 June, as part of a global campaign to highlight Aikpitanhi’s suspicious death.
