Tunis, Tunisia — June 7, 2025
Two Nigerian children, Little Nwachukwu Blessing Ijeoma and Master Victor Chinemere, have been stranded in Tunisia for over a year following the arrest of their mother during a police raid in December 2024. The Nigerian community in the diaspora is now calling for urgent intervention after repeated efforts to repatriate the children have been hindered by delays from the Nigerian Embassy in Tunis.
According to Akuma Chidi Mark Chijioke Homs, Chairman (Emeritus) of NIDO Africa and former Chairman of NIDO Tunisia, the children’s ordeal began after their parents—an Igbo father and a mother from Edo State—found themselves unintentionally caught in a law enforcement operation. The father had reportedly accompanied the mother to a residence in Tunisia where many sub-Saharan Africans live, so she could have her hair done for the festive season. Unknown to them, the house was allegedly linked to illegal activities, including drug trafficking.
During the raid, several individuals were arrested, including the children’s mother. The father, however, managed to escape and is currently seeking refuge in neighboring Algeria. The mother has since remained incarcerated in a Tunisian prison, with no communication with her family or access to legal assistance.
Following the incident, the children were taken in by a Nigerian woman residing illegally in Tunisia, under arrangements made by the Nigerian Embassy. Since January 2024, they have reportedly been living under extremely harsh and deplorable conditions.
“In collaboration with NIDO Tunisia and NIDO Africa, their father has been in constant communication with us, working tirelessly to facilitate their repatriation,” Mr. Akuma stated. “Flight tickets for both children, as well as for their escort Madam Joanna, were purchased in January 2025. Yet the Embassy has failed to issue the necessary travel documents to allow them to return to Nigeria.”
Multiple appeals from both families in Nigeria and official letters from NIDO Africa to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have gone unanswered.
“This situation is deeply troubling and unacceptable,” Mr. Akuma added. “We are now reaching out to media outlets and the public in the hope that someone in authority will be moved to act. These innocent children deserve to be reunited with their family and given the chance to grow in a safe, stable environment.”
The call now is for the Nigerian government—particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian Embassy in Tunis—to urgently intervene and issue the travel documents required to bring Little Nwachukwu Blessing Ijeoma and Master Victor Chinemere home.
