China has refuted claims it opened and operates police stations in Nigeria and other countries where its nationals work and reside.
This follows a recent report by a rights organization, Safeguard Defenders, titled “110 Overseas Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild” which claimed that the Chinese government established a police station in Nigeria.
However, in an exclusive interview with the Nigerian publication, <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/10/china-opens-police-station-in-nigeria/">Vanguard</a> on Wednesday, a top Chinese official who spoke on condition of anonymity dispelled the report.
The official said diplomatic relations cannot allow any government to open police posts in another sovereign country outside its borders. Said the official:
<blockquote>
There is no such station in Nigeria or everywhere. This is because no sovereign country may allow other countries to establish their own (police) stations on their territory. Isn’t this common sense?
</blockquote>
The Chinese official, however, revealed that there are outreach programs in countries where Chinese residents live to assist and protect them from terrorism, abduction, and other crimes that could risk their lives. He said:
<blockquote>
Also, there is only one category of outreach services for Chinese communities, therefore China has no intention or spare energy to run police stations outside its borders.
You know in Nigeria, there are a lot of insecurity issues happening almost every day. I cannot remember, maybe September or August or July or June, there were terrorists, bandits, they had kidnapped a lot of innocent persons, and also among these innocent persons, there were some Chinese nationals.
</blockquote>
Another Chinese official said what they can only do is help assist Chinese nationals without violating Nigerian sovereignty. He said:
<blockquote>
What I mean (by the outreach services) is that every nation has its mission to care for and help its own nationals.
So they have no right, they have no power to decide or command the Nigerian government or police forces, what they can only do is assist or play the outside role to help the Chinese nationals.
So the fundamental reason or factor is the locals and the Nigerian government, so we fully respect the sovereignty issue.
So there is no sovereignty issue, so the report ( Safeguard Defenders’ ‘110 Overseas Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild’) is fake news.
</blockquote>

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