Nigeria’s Consul-General in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mr. Godwin Adams, has called for another autopsy to be carried out on the late Deputy Director-General of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mrs. Elizabeth Ndubuisi-Chukwu, to ascertain the cause of her death.

He also warned that the deceased should not be buried until the autopsy is conducted, adding that no fewer than 30 Nigerians are killed annually in South Africa.

Adams, who said this in an exclusive chat with Sunday Vanguard, lamented that Nigerians sell hard drugs in South Africa, saying most of the deaths were fallouts of drug-related conflicts.

His words: “On this recent case, it will be very important to carry out another autopsy before she is buried. When you ask about the number of Nigerians killed on a daily basis, I will say that over 60 per cent of deaths are caused by Nigerians themselves while 15 per cent is as a result of Police brutality. 15 per cent are products of disagreement between two parties over business deals.

“There is a case on the killing of a Nigerian by eight South African policemen in October 2017. These policemen have been arraigned in the court. This particular case is well celebrated in South Africa. The case would be concluded in November this year.

“We still have many cases pending because most of them need witnesses and some of these witnesses are being threatened by the South African police. Witnesses are very important in any case and another problem is the failure to follow up on the investigation seriously.

“In a year, we sometimes have up to 30 Nigerians killed. Until Nigerians stop killing themselves, we will not be able to hold South African government accountable.

“And most of these killings revolve around drug peddling on the streets because our boys do it openly and sometimes out of jealousy, one of them will go and report the other to the police.”

Adams in an earlier statement sent to Sunday Vanguard said the Consulate was not informed of the presence of Nigerians attending the conference which the late Ndubuisi-Chukwu attended. Consequently, he urged prospective Nigerian travellers to South Africa to always inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who would alert the Mission of their arrival.

That statement reads: “The mission was never informed of the presence of Nigerians around for any such conference.

“I am using this opportunity to also appeal to prospective Nigerian travelers to South Africa, particularly those coming for official functions to always inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who will, in turn, alert the Mission of their arrival. This is important so that the mission would be aware and advise them on the situation on the ground. Presence of Nigerians

“On June 16, 2019, when I was told about Mrs. Elizabeth Ndubuisi-Chukwu, I immediately rushed to the hotel to find out more on the development as the mission was never informed of the presence of Nigerians for any such conference.

“I met the hotel management, who immediately called in the security officials to brief me on the development and directed me to Kempton Police Station where the case was being handled.

“Since it was a weekend, the investigating police officer was not available. I later got a call from Alexander Ndubuisi, a Nigerian resident in South Africa, who introduced himself as a cousin of the deceased. He informed me about the sad development and the fact that the elder brother, Dr. Chiedu Ndubuisi was around.

•Text (excluding headline): Sunday Vanguard.

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