Who is the Nigerian Who was Branded a Thief and Beaten Up? Why the Silence?

A Nigerian man was tied to a pole and beaten up. News reports say his name is Ahmad, a common Muslim name. His brother says his full name is Auwal 'Ahmad' Aleeyu. He was branded a thief by the residents of Malviya Nagar who beat him up. They also said that Auwal’s injuries were a result of him falling off a staircase, saying nothing about thrashing him. The police believed these residents with no further investigation and readily arrested Auwal. No action was taken against the men who beat him up until a video of him being beaten up went viral. The police made a statement saying they had no idea about Auwal being beaten up until the video reached them. They also said there was no racism involved.

Auwal came to Delhi to study Business Administration. His family has not heard from him in the last three weeks. They have been desperately trying to reach him. They did not know if he was even alive when the video of his beating went viral. His brother was in tears when he contacted the Indian African community trying to find out what happened.

Auwal finished his Higher National Diploma (HND) from Sokoto Polytechnic in Nigeria. He came to Delhi for further studies. According to his brother, Auwal should have graduated by now. His mobile is obviously off, and it would seem he hasn’t been allowed to contact his family from inside Tihar jail.

The question that arises immediately is that where is the international outcry? Where are the statements from Nigeria condemning what happened to their citizen? Would a similar treatment be given to someone whose skin colour was different? The incident has been ignored by the Indian government. There has been no official statement from anyone. The Nigerian Embassy has also remained strangely silent.

There would definitely have been a much different response if the country of origin was different. Statements claiming that there were no racist motivations are thus hard to believe.

The fact that a foreign national was arrested on claims of theft when he was grievously injured also raises questions about the police response. One wonders if the law enforcement agencies would have enquired about the matter at all had the video not surfaced.