Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Christopher Musa and several high-ranking Nigerian military officials were denied Canadian visas, preventing them from attending an event dedicated to honoring veterans wounded in battle.
Speaking on the matter, Mr. Musa stated, “Yesterday, I was meant to be in Canada. There’s an event to honour our veterans, those that were injured during battles, and we were meant to be there. We were invited with our team. Half has gone and half has been denied.”
He made this revelation during the annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies (AANISS) on Thursday. However, he did not disclose the reasons why he and other officials were denied visas.
Mr. Musa’s statement comes shortly after a retired Nigerian police officer, Martins Nwokolo, had his asylum application rejected on the grounds that the Nigeria Police Force is widely known for extortion, bribery, and other corrupt practices.
Earlier in February, Peoples Gazette reported that Mr. Nwokolo’s asylum request was denied twice. His attempt to challenge the rejection was also dismissed by Madam Justice Ngo of a federal court in Ontario, Canada.
Reacting to Mr. Musa’s disclosure, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, criticized Canada’s decision, describing it as disrespectful. He added that this situation underscores the need for Nigeria to work on improving its internal affairs.
“Thank you for the courage to say Canada denied you visas. They can go to hell,” Mr. Ribadu said. “Even though it’s painful and disrespectful, we are peaceful and strong, and I agree with you that it is time to fix our country. Yet, this is another reason we work hard to make Nigeria work.”