24-7-2025
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) said it has made contact with a group of Nigerian miners who were allegedly used and dumped by their Chinese employer in the Central African Republic.
According to the group in viral video on social media, the Chinese company that took them to CAR has not paid their wages for eight months and their passports that will enable to travel back to Nigeria was seized from them. They said they abandoned in Senye, a village in the Bambari region, 850km from Bangui the CAR capital city.
“When we came out they brought us to this bush, you can see there is no house anywhere here,” the man said, gesturing toward a sparsely populated rural area.
“The person in charge, the Nigerian general manager of the company. His name is …Ademola Aregbe. He has gone back to Nigeria, and when we called him, he said too he’s not concerned about our wellbeing anymore,” said a man speaking for the group.
Sequel to this, the Commission immediately contacted officials of the Embassy in the CAR to look into the matter. The agent who lured them to the minning job has also been identified.
NiDCOM said their seized passports have been retrieved, while plans are on to send a bus to convey them to the embassy in Bangui, the Capital of CAR, which is at least an eight-hour drive.
The Commission also extends its appreciation to the officials of the Nigerian Embassy for their swift action.