Scores of Nigerians are currently languishing in detention centers across Indonesia.
They were said to have entered the country without valid travel documents.
Some of the Nigerian immigrants were arrested in early 2020 for entering Indonesia without valid documents. Many had travelled to Indonesia as a jumping-off point hoping to eventually reach Australia by boat.
They have been living in confinement since then in two detention camps, Tanjungpinang Central Immigration Detention Center on Bintan Island and Hotel Kolekta
Those held in the detention center typically violated Indonesia´s immigration regulations, while those living in Hotel Kolekta and other community housing entered the country legally seeking safe haven.
Due to the remote location of the centre, detainees do not have access to free or low-cost attorneys who can guide them through the complex requirements they must meet in order to be released.
Indonesia, despite having a long history of accepting refugees, is not a signatory to the U.N. Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol, and the government does not allow refugees and asylum-seekers to work.
UNHCR Indonesia says more than 12,000 individuals from 40 countries in the country are listed as refugees under Indonesian law, most of them from Afghanistan.
