Five days after a senior Nigerian diplomat was allegedly forcibly restrained and assaulted in a moving car by immigration officers in Jakarta, Indonesia's foreign ministry said they regretted the incident and a probe has been launched.
Nigeria recalled its ambassador to the southeast Asian country soon after a video of the assault went viral.
The video of the incident showed diplomat Abdulrahman Ibrahim being pinned down inside a moving vehicle by several men. The diplomat could also be heard saying “I can't breathe” in the video.
Teuku Faizasyah, Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson, on Thursday said the ministry regretted the incident that took place on August 7. Describing the episode as an isolated incident, Indonesia is continuing to communicate with the Nigerian government on the matter, Faizasyah said.
“That incident was an isolated incident and does not have anything to do with Indonesia's commitment to performing its duties as a host country as per Vienna conventions on diplomatic relations,” the spokesperson said.
The law and human rights ministry, Mr Faizasyah said, has launched an internal investigation over the incident.
According to Nigeria's foreign ministry, Mr Ibrahim was an “accredited Nigerian diplomatic agent” at the Nigerian embassy in Jakarta.
A spokesperson for the Indonesian government added that a meeting between officials of the two countries took place on Wednesday where “good relations” were discussed.
The alleged assault on the diplomat sparked tension between the two countries, prompting Nigeria to “complain strongly to the government of Indonesia” and demand a review of bilateral ties.
Nigeria's foreign minister Geoffrey Onyeama called the incident “an egregious act of international delinquency by Indonesian state actors”.
However, according to the Indonesia's immigration office, Mr Ibrahim allegedly did not cooperate during routine checks on the validity of permits held by foreigners.
It emerged that Mr Ibrahim was a diplomat only after his ID card was produced at the immigration office, Ibnu said.
