Dubai authorities have sentenced Dinchi Lar, a female Nigerian citizen, to one year in prison for tweeting a video that exposed the horrendous treatment she and other Africans were forced to endure at the Dubai international airport. 

On August 31, Ms Lar tweeted a picture and a now-deleted video narrating the ill-treatment Africans were subjected to by the foreign government.

Asserting that she was detained for eight hours without any form of explanation, the Nigerian lady reviled the Dubai government for mistreating her and other African nationals without an apology, even after findings showed she met all the visa requirements and was not carrying contrabands.

“I’m at Dubai international airport and myself and some tiger Nigerians with valid Visas are being held in a room hours after arriving with no explanation and no information on what we can do. Please help me. There’s more than 20 of us,” tweeted the Nigerian lady. 

“The treatment of Nigerians in Dubai is wrong. After meeting requirements for a visa, which requires a lot of money, and you’re issued one You get treated with disdain when you arrive. Not given an explanation or allowed to ask a question when they decide to do whatever they want,” added Ms Lar.

In accordance with new Dubai visa regulations at the time, the Nigerian woman had applied for a family visa and travelled in the company of her sister, who was also held at the airport alongside other Africans.

Ms Lar was later permitted entry to the city, but on September 6, when she tried to depart Dubai for Nigeria, vindictive foreign authorities pounced on her, detaining her because of the viral tweet that painted their country in a negative light.

The video tweet which explicitly showed the harsh treatment Nigerian citizens suffered in the hands of Dubai authorities, has now been deleted, presumably on the orders of foreign officials in the days following Ms Lar’s detention.

Despite deleting the video, the UAE government sentenced the Nigerian woman to one year in prison on October 12, without providing her with a fair trial or legal representation, according to Jerry Doubles, who is familiar with the matter.

It is unclear whether the Nigerian government is aware of Ms Lar’s sentencing as Abike Dabiri, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) did not immediately respond to messages seeking comments on the matter.

Enquiry messages also sent to Geoffrey Onyeama, the minister of foreign affairs, on his mobile phone also went unanswered as at the time of filing this report.

Ms Lar’s family members have begun plans to protest her sentence at the Dubai consulate in Abuja on Monday, and created the #Justicefordinchi hashtag to create online awareness for her plight.