Murtala Kamara Mohammed, AfricaNews reporter in Freetown, Sierra Leone
The Chinese authorities have given Nigeria a 21-day ultimatum to claim the remains of their nationals which are lying in different mortuaries in the Asian nation or they will be cremated according to the Chinese laws. The Chinese say they are given Nigeria December 15th as the last date to take over their deceased or they would in line with their domestic laws cremate the bodies.
Several Nigerians are reported to have died in China from various reasons including illnesses, accidents, drowning, drugs and unknown causes. Some of the dead have been lying there since 2006 and they are yet to be claimed.
Nigeria’s Mission in China said according to Leadership newspaper that all effort to contact family members of the deceased has proved futile. In cases where those contacts were established, family members were not corporative regarding what to do with their dead relatives.
The Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry said they are calling on the general public and in particular members and family of the deceased to urgently contact the ministry (Consular and Immigration Services Division) to indicate how they wish to arrange to repatriate the remains of their loved ones for burial in Nigeria or, in the alternative, grant appropriate approval for cremation by the Chinese authorities.
The Chinese authorities have given Nigeria a 21-day ultimatum to claim the remains of their nationals which are lying in different mortuaries in the Asian nation or they will be cremated according to the Chinese laws. The Chinese say they are given Nigeria December 15th as the last date to take over their deceased or they would in line with their domestic laws cremate the bodies.
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