By Abdullahi Inuwa
A Nigerian national, detained in an Indian prison for over six years without conviction, has cried out for help, alleging a plot to force a false confession.
“I am innocent, but they are pressuring me to plead guilty to end this nightmare,” the man, whose name is being withheld for legal reasons, said in a desperate message smuggled from his cell.
Arrested in 2018 on drug-related charges he claims are fabricated, the man has remained behind bars through endless court adjournments and without access to proper legal representation.
Human rights advocates are raising alarm over what they describe as a gross miscarriage of justice and racial profiling. “No one should be held this long without trial. This is not justice — it’s persecution,” said a Nigerian legal observer in India.
The Nigerian Embassy in New Delhi has yet to issue a formal response, while calls grow louder for intervention by the Federal Government and international human rights bodies.
Is Nigeria doing enough to protect its citizens abroad?