Just a day after the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) reiterated its warning against Nigerians pursuing education in Northern Cyprus, another case of a missing Nigerian student has surfaced.
Abdulsamad Abubakar, a 28-year-old student of International Relations at Cyprus Science University (CSU), has been declared missing, sparking distress and concern from his mother, Mrs. Dije Ibraheem.
The heartbroken 54-year-old woman from Kogi State visited NIDCOM headquarters, pleading for assistance in finding her only child.
According to Mrs. Ibraheem, the last time she heard from Abdulsamad was on August 2, 2022, through a call made from an unknown number.
During the call, her son allegedly cried out that he was being taken to a detention camp.
Since then, all efforts to reach him have been unsuccessful, and she has received no updates from either the university or local authorities.
“I haven’t eaten or slept well since that call. He’s my only child and I’m raising him alone,” she said tearfully during her visit.
“I reached out to the agent who processed his admission and travel, but he has been evasive. I was later advised to petition the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which I did before hearing about Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa’s earlier warnings about Northern Cyprus.”
In response, Dr. Sule Yakubu Bassi, Secretary of NIDCOM, received the petition on behalf of the Commission’s Chairperson, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
He assured the distraught mother that the Commission would do everything within its capacity to investigate the matter in collaboration with Nigeria’s embassy in Ankara, Turkey.
Dr. Bassi, however, reiterated the challenges posed by the lack of diplomatic ties between Nigeria and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a region not recognized by the United Nations.
“We take the welfare of Nigerians abroad seriously. Cases like this are deeply troubling. We’ve issued multiple warnings about the risks Nigerian students face in Northern Cyprus,” he said, urging Mrs. Ibraheem to look after her health while investigations continue.
The Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Hidayet Bayraktar, had previously dismissed NIDCOM’s warnings as exaggerated, but the Commission has maintained its stance, citing numerous unresolved cases of Nigerian students who have been killed or gone missing in the disputed territory over the past three years.
 reiterated its warning against Nigerians pursuing education in Northern Cyprus, another case of a missing Nigerian student has surfaced.){kind=link}