The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has submitted a petition to Patrick Brown, the Mayor of Brampton, Canada, regarding a hate-filled message directed at the Yoruba and Benin communities by Amaka Patience-Sonnberger, a Nigerian based in Canada.
In a viral video, Sonnberger, a disability support worker in Brampton, threatened to poison and kill members of the Yoruba and Edo ethnic groups.
In a letter dated August 28, NiDCOM Chairman Abike Dabiri-Erewa expressed concerns that Mrs. Sonnberger’s threats could incite violence.
The letter reads, “We wish to inform your esteemed office that NiDCOM is in receipt of a video circulating online of a Nigerian woman resident in Canada who had been inciting violence and calling for the killings of persons belonging to a certain tribe in Nigeria.
“The said woman, known as Mrs. Amaka Patience Sonnberger, who apparently lives in Brampton, Canada, is a disability support worker in Brampton.”
She noted that it is worrisome that someone who works with one of the most vulnerable demographics in society made such a comment, adding that she may pose a danger to the vulnerable people she works with and needs to be investigated, checked, and stopped for the good of society.
“Furthermore, while we have been informed that this matter has been brought to the attention of the Canadian authorities by Nigerians living in Canada, we also want to lend our voice to the effort of ending such issues at its roots.”
“In view of the above, we ask that this issue be properly investigated not just because of her threat of poisoning persons from a particular tribe in Nigeria, but to determine her attitude at her job with the vulnerable,” the letter adds.