Nigerian death in Goa: India takes diplomatic stand

Surendra Paul was arrested Wednesday from Chapora, a village known as a haven for drug traffickers, located 30 km from Panaji.

Police suspect Paul was one of the six attackers involved in killing Obina Simione.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin discounted any tension with Abuja (capital of Nigeria) over the death and the clash between Nigerians and the police that followed in Goa.

"We are in diplomatic dialogue with them, we have explained to them the circumstances and the situation," the spokesperson said at a briefing here.

He said the Nigerian High Commission is "concerned and anguished" and has requested for a thorough probe into the "death and consequent issues that flowed from that".

The Nigerian High Commission is also in touch with the Goa chief secretary who has assured he will "get to the bottom" of the matter and provide a report in 48 hours.

The Indian High Commission in Abuja has also explained the situation to the Nigerian foreign ministry.

Akbaruddin added India-Nigeria ties are defined by friendship and "we hope to resolve the matter".

To a question on a Nigerian diplomat purportedly using threatening language, the spokesperson said it did not figure in their diplomatic dialogue with Nigeria.

"In our diplomatic dialogue we did not hear the words mentioned," he said, adding the Nigerian authorities had conveyed a "sense of anguish" over the adverse circumstances. He also said the probe report would throw light on the suspected drug trafficking link to the murder.

A consular official in Goa warned Monday that thousands of Indians in his country will be "thrown out on the streets" if police do not stop evicting Nigerians from their rented homes in Goa.

Following the killing of Simione, over 200 Nigerians blocked a major highway in Goa, demanding the presence of a Nigerian diplomat during the post-mortem examination of the deceased.