Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has called for a thorough investigation into the death of a Nigerian, Daniel Eheri, who reportedly died in the custody of the Luxembourg Police, Grand-Ducale.
In a statement by the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, yesterday, the commission said it would work with the Nigerian Embassy in Belgium to uncover the circumstances surrounding Eheri’s death.
According to the Nigerian community in Luxembourg, a formal petition had been sent to the Federal Government of Nigeria, calling for urgent action regarding what it described as the extrajudicial killing of Daniel Eheri.
The petition, entitled ‘Case of an Extrajudicial Killing of a Nigerian by the Police Authority of Luxembourg’, was addressed to the NiDCOM Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, by National Coordinator of the Nigerian Community in Luxembourg, Mr. Sunday Adekolu.
The document stated that Eheri was arrested by the Luxembourg police on 10 February 2025, while in possession of foodstuffs and was confirmed dead by the following day.
The petition raised concerns over the silence of the Luxembourg authorities regarding the exact cause of his death.
He urged the Nigerian government to take up the matter swiftly and ensure that the case was not swept under the carpet.
Adekolu also revealed that Nigeria’s Ambassador to Belgium, Ambassador Obinna Onowu, whose jurisdiction includes Luxembourg, had made efforts to get clarification from the authorities by writing two letters on the case but got no response.
The Nigerian community in Luxembourg now seeks NiDCOM’s urgent intervention, particularly to ensure an autopsy is conducted on Eheri’s remains and to demand accountability from the Luxembourg police.
The petition in part: ‘The late Eheri Daniel was a Nigerian with an untainted record in Luxembourg and a residence permit holder.
‘To prevent a recurrence of such a dastardly act of inhumanity against our people here in Luxembourg, there must be transparency and justice in the handling of this case.
‘The ambassador’s efforts were rebuffed, as there had been no official response to his letters on the matter.
‘We, the Nigerian Community in Luxembourg, do hereby seek your urgent assistance in the matter, to put records in right perspectives, to persuade the Luxembourg Police Grand-Ducale into conducting autopsy on the remains of Eheri Daniel, to sensitise the Luxembourg Police on matters that can be done to prevent a re-occurrence of such a dastardly act of inhumanity against our people here in Luxembourg in the future’, the petition added.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman of NiDCOM, Dabiri-Erewa, expressed her displeasure over the report of Eheri’s death in police custody, describing it as deeply troubling.
She condoled with the family of the deceased and the Nigerian community in Luxembourg, assuring that the commission would work with stakeholders to ensure that justice is served.
‘The commission will work with the Nigerian Embassy in that country to demand for thorough investigation’, she said.
