TWO Nigerian nationals who escaped from a Nepalese prison amid a wave of violent anti-government protests have been rearrested by India’s paramilitary border force, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), in a dramatic cross-border security operation, News Point Nigeria gathered.
According to a report by the Press Trust of India (PTI) on Monday, the fugitives were intercepted on Saturday at Jainagar, a border town in Bihar State, as they allegedly attempted to slip back into Nepal.
Authorities revealed that the Nigerians were among dozens of inmates both local and foreign, who took advantage of the chaos caused by mass demonstrations in Nepal to flee detention.
Nepal has been gripped by widespread protests in recent weeks, with demonstrators clashing with security forces over economic hardship, governance concerns, and political instability. Several detention facilities were reportedly overrun as the riots escalated, allowing prisoners and detainees to escape.
A senior security source quoted by PTI said: “These individuals have been apprehended from various border points over the last three to four days after they escaped from different jails during the violent anti-government protests in Nepal.”
The SSB disclosed that over 79 escapees, including foreign nationals, have been captured across different states along the 1,751-kilometre-long, largely unfenced India-Nepal border spanning 20 districts in five states.
Security has since been tightened across the porous border region to prevent further illegal crossings, with surveillance stepped up and joint operations underway with Nepalese authorities.
The arrest of the two Nigerians has once again placed a spotlight on the increasing number of cases involving Nigerian nationals across Asia, particularly in drug trafficking and organized crime.
In August, this newspaper reported that police in Kozhikode City, India, arrested eight Nigerians allegedly linked to a major drug syndicate. Investigators later uncovered a synthetic drug production facility in Gurugram, Haryana, working with police units from Delhi and Haryana in a coordinated crackdown.
The repeated arrests have raised concerns for Nigerian diplomatic missions in Asia, who are under pressure to engage with host countries and curb the rising number of Nigerians implicated in crimes abroad.
Indian and Nepalese authorities have not yet disclosed the charges faced by the two Nigerians recaptured at the border or confirmed whether they will be extradited back to Nepal to complete their sentences.
