Six Polish students and a lecturer from Warsaw University, who were detained in Nigeria during recent protests, have been released, the Polish Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday. According to the ministry, all seven individuals are in good health and are expected to return home this week.
Pawel Wronski, the ministry’s spokesman, confirmed that the detained Polish citizens have had their passports, laptops, and other belongings returned. They are currently staying at a university campus in the northern Nigerian city of Kano while awaiting their return trip.
The group had traveled to northern Nigeria as part of a program to study the Hausa language. They were detained earlier this month in Kano State during a political protest, allegedly for carrying Russian flags, according to Nigeria’s secret service.
Officials in Poland, which maintains tense relations with Russia, have dismissed the claim, suggesting that the situation was likely a misunderstanding. The seven individuals were initially held at a hotel in Kano as Warsaw actively sought their release.
“Our students were at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Wronski stated, urging caution for those traveling to distant or unfamiliar locations. He added that the ministry provides warnings and travel advice on its website, including specific guidance about the state of Kano, where the political situation is described as “quite complicated.”
Pro-Russian sentiment is rare in Poland, a country with a history of suffering under Russian rule. Polish society is deeply critical of Russian aggression in Ukraine and strongly supports Ukraine in the ongoing conflict.
The protests in Nigeria, which drew thousands of mostly young people, were sparked by the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and alleged poor governance, despite the country’s status as a top oil producer. In several northern states, some protesters were seen waving Russian flags—a trend more commonly observed in African nations where military coups have led to growing pro-Russian sentiments and severed ties with the West.
(AP)
