Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, has held talks with Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Ablakwa, over recent protests targeting Nigerians living in Ghana.

In a statement shared via her official social media platform on Thursday, Ojukwu said the meeting addressed growing concerns following demonstrations in which some Ghanaians accused Nigerians of contributing to rising crime.

“Meeting with the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana, Hon. Samuel Ablakwa, to address Nigeria-Ghana relations in the aftermath of protests against Nigerians living in Ghana,” she wrote.

She quoted the Minister as assuring that Nigerians in Ghana were safe. “The Minister assured that the lives, properties, and businesses of Nigerians living in Ghana are protected, and there is no threat of mass deportations.”

The meeting came a day after Ojukwu’s arrival in Accra, where she was received at Kotoka International Airport by Ghana’s Inspector-General of Police.

She reaffirmed the Nigerian government’s commitment to a diplomatic resolution to the crisis, which arose after a viral video showed protesters calling for the expulsion of Nigerians over alleged criminal activities.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), on Tuesday, condemned the generalisation of Nigerians as criminals. Its Chairperson, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, described the protests as unfair and unsubstantiated.

“Nigerians are not criminals. They are good ambassadors wherever they go. The few bad eggs should be identified and sanctioned appropriately,” she said in a statement issued by NiDCOM’s Director of Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun.

Dabiri-Erewa urged restraint on both sides and stressed that no verified reports indicated attacks on Nigerian businesses or properties in Ghana. “There is no evidence of such, and we must do everything possible to prevent retaliatory attacks,” she stated.

She added that Nigerian authorities were actively addressing the issue and advised citizens in Ghana not to react violently.

Similarly, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, Senator Aniekan Bassey, described the protests as “deeply troubling and against the spirit of African unity.”

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Bassey — also a member of the 6th ECOWAS Parliament — called for sustained diplomacy and regional cooperation to address the matter.