WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish diplomats on Friday called for the release of seven citizens who were detained in Nigeria in what Warsaw believes was a misunderstanding amid protests taking place in the West African country.
Six Polish students and a professor from the University of Warsaw, who were participating in a Hausa language study program, were arrested at the beginning of the week in Kano state, northern Nigeria.
A spokesman for Nigeria’s secret service said they were arrested for carrying Russian flags during the protest, something Polish authorities consider unlikely.
Deputy Foreign Minister Jakub Wisniewski appealed to Nigeria to allow the students and teacher to return home to their families, briefing reporters on Polish efforts being made in the case, after meeting with the person in charge Nigerian business center in Warsaw.
“During the meeting, I conveyed that I was convinced that the students’ behavior could have resulted from their lack of knowledge of local customs, culture and laws. I appealed to the possibility of their return to Poland, to their homes, where their families are waiting for them”, said Wisniewski.
Wisniewski said he did not believe the students carried Russian flags.
Pro-Russian sentiment is rare in the Central European nation, which has bad memories of suffering under Russian rule in the past. Polish society is today deeply critical of Russian aggression in Ukraine and strongly supports Ukraine.
Wisniewski said the seven Poles were taken to the capital, Abuja, and were safe. The Polish consul was scheduled to meet with them on Friday afternoon.
Wisniewski noted that there is currently a curfew and a ban on demonstrations in Nigeria, where there have been large protests in the country of 220 million people in response to high inflation and hunger.
Some Nigerian protesters were seen waving Russian flags in northern states, continuing a trend previously seen in Africa, in countries hit by coups d’état, where pro-Russian sentiments are growing as military governments cut ties with the West.
