We feel unsafe during riots – Nigerians in UK

Nigerians living in the United Kingdom have expressed fear over the recent attacks on immigrants in the country, saying they feel threatened and unsafe.

Britain has been plunged into a series of protests that erupted early last week following the death of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England.

The police arrested a 17-year-old male as the suspected killer of the victim. However, rumour soon spread that the suspect was an Islamist migrant.

Consequently, several thousand far-right natives gathered near Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Street office in Central London to protest.

The protest soon turned into riots as security agents arrested 100 suspects.

There have been riots in more than 20 cities across Britain, including Sunderland, Plymouth and Belfast.

Protesters attacked mosques, buildings housing asylum seekers, cars and houses, including a library, which was set ablaze. Shops were also looted.

Starmer warned that the rioters would be sentenced within a week.

Despite the assurance given, some Nigerians told Saturday PUNCH that the rioters targeted immigrants, and some homes belonging to Nigerians were attacked.

A Nigerian engineer living in London, Toyyib Adelodun said, “London has been generally safe, but the Nigerian community is feeling unsafe in places where the riots were intense like Middlesborough and Plymouth. We have reported attacks on some Nigerian homes and some people couldn’t leave their houses for some days.”

Another Nigerian IT professional, Dr Evelyn Okpanachi, blamed the riot on misinformation.

“It’s deeply saddening to witness the rise in violence in the UK, especially the unjust targeting of immigrants. Misinformation has fueled unrest across cities. While law enforcement is doing its best to intervene, more must be done to end this violence,” Okpanachi added.

Another Nigerian student at Cambridge University, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Black British were not excluded from the attacks.

The source said, “I feel threatened because it is targeted towards immigrants. Even the immigrants who are already citizens are also targeted because they are not whites. I feel threatened because it’s been violent and lives have been lost.”

Also, a senior lecturer in London, Dr Oyedele Ogundana said, “As a Nigerian and a person of colour, it’s natural to feel concerned for one’s safety and that of loved ones. Nonetheless, we remain hopeful that peace will be restored.”

But a realtor, Maxwell Adeyemi, who lives in Bradford, said the unrest did not get to the ward, adding that there was peace in the area.

He said, “The tension has created panic almost everywhere in the UK. However, my area in West Yorkshire, the city of Bradford is calm. I can say it’s the headquarters of immigrants in the UK.”

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, assured that Nigerians in the UK are safe.

Montgomery spoke on Wednesday during a meeting with the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

The envoy said, “We will not, as a country, accept discrimination or attacks against any community.”