Released and scheduled to be returned home, Polish students detained during Nigerian protests

Last updated on August 29th, 2024 at 01:21 pm

Poland’s foreign ministry reported on Wednesday six Polish students and a Warsaw University lecturer who were arrested earlier this month during political demonstrations in Nigeria have been released. Reported to be in good health, the group—who had been in the northern Nigerian city of Kano—are anticipated to be back in Poland later this week.

The spokesman for the ministry, Pawel Wronski, verified that the seven Polish residents got their personal items, laptops, and passports restored. As they wait to return home, they are lodging on the university’s Kano campus.

The group had come to northern Nigeria to take part in a Hausa language research project. But they were arrested by Nigerian officials during a political demonstration in Kano, purportedly because of concerns about their waving Russian flags. Originally raising questions, Nigeria’s secret agency claimed custody based on the flags.

Polish officials, however, voiced doubts about this assertion, noting to Poland’s tense relations with Russia and implying that the incident was probably a misinterpretation. Wronski underlined that the students were just “at the wrong time at the wrong place,” so he advised travellers visiting far-off and politically sensitive areas to use caution.

Reiterating its warnings and advise for visitors, the Polish foreign ministry has focused especially on the convoluted political environment in Kano as shown on its official website.

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In Poland, a nation with a terrible past of Russian rule, pro-Russian attitude is rare. Most Poles fervently oppose Russian aggression in Ukraine and back Ukraine in the current war. This background casts doubt on the claims of the Polish students flying Russian flags especially.

Widespread concern over the biggest cost-of- living crises in a generation and discontent with government in the oil-rich nation drove the thousands of young people marching in Nigeria. A trend more commonly seen in African nations undergoing military coups and separating themselves from Western influences, a few northern states—including Kano—saw a small number of demonstrators carrying Russian flags.