Nigeria High Commission in Canada shuts doors for public over unruly behavior

The Ottawa office of the Nigeria High Commission in Canada has shut its doors to the public and suspended consular services until further notice, according to a news report by Today.

In a statement on its website, the High Commission said it was forced to close to the public after Nigeria citizens conducted themselves in an unruly manner at the commission's office.

The statement agreed that a number of citizens have compelling passport renewal requests which were ready to attend in a responsible manner. Attending to such categories of citizens was made strictly by appointment on designated days of the week. This is said to enable the High Commission to admit a limited number of people into the chancery at a time and observe the laid down rules of physical and social distancing.

However, some Nigerians abused the privilege of showing up at the chancery without an appointment and insisting on being attended to, even on days when they were not open to the public at all.

The commission said such people behave in a most unruly manner, disturbing the peace, banging windows, and other anti-social behavior, forcing them to cease operation. It cited an incident on 14th August, when a group of Nigerians showed up at the High Commission and refused the embassy staff to attend to those who had appointments. The group insisted the embassy must attend to everyone who showed up.