Sad story of Mr Ukaegbu Emmanuel, the Nigerian Man handicapped , detained by Korean Authorities

The word ‘japa’ is a very popular slang amongst Nigerian youths today. The word which means ‘to escape’ or ‘run away from an unpleasant situation is often used by Nigerian youths to refer to traveling abroad in search of greener pastures.

The persistent socioeconomic problems facing the country along with the tentativeness surrounding the political sphere have continued to facilitate the mass exodus of able-bodied and intellectually gifted young people from the country to other countries where they are valued more as productive members of society.

One such youth is Mr. Ukaegbu Emmanuel Ifeanyi who left Nigeria legally for Korea back in 2019, became legally employed a few weeks after his arrival, and continued to work diligently until 2021 when an accident on the job rendered him partially disabled.

Mr. Emmanuel who worked in a glass cutting factory was in the process of cutting a piece of glass when a large piece of glass fell from a high level in the factory and landed on his left hand, damaging four veins in his wrist permanently.

Mr. Emmanuel who is left-handed had his life changed permanently by the unfortunate incident as he now finds it very difficult to do things he used to with ease before the accident. He can no longer write, eat or hold any object with his dominant hand, and has consequently not been able to find a job.
Even sadder than the fact that Mr. Emmanuel is now partially disabled is that he is currently being maltreated and bullied by the Korean immigration authorities. The Korean immigration authorities have been holding Mr. Emmanuel in detention on the premise of him being an illegal visitor with an expired visa. He however made it clear to them that he was unable to successfully process the renewal of his visa due to his partial disability, and that he is no longer interested in staying in Korea, and simply needs to receive the compensation to which he is entitled to be injured while working as a legal visitor before returning to Nigeria.

Mr. Emmanuel has provided all the documents required to legally back up his demand for compensation, except for the medical reports from the hospital where his hand was surgically treated. According to Mr. Emmanuel, he has reached out to the hospital, and they have made it known to him that the documents are ready, but for some reason, his handler at the Korean Immigration Office -Ms. Sim Hyeah Suk- has refused to allow him to go and collect the documents, while also refusing to send someone on his behalf, or easier still, simply request for the documents officially from the hospital. Mr. Emmanuel took the matter further to the office of the Chief Immigration Officer -Mr. Sung Bong-, but did not get any response despite Mr. Sung’s office being in the same building as the cell in which Mr. Emmanuel is currently being detained.

After weeks of being detained and the unresponsiveness of the Korean Immigration Office towards helping him get his compensation and leaving Korea, Mr. Emmanuel reached out to the Nigerian Embassy in Korea on more than two occasions but was also met with nonchalance on the part of the Officers at the Nigerian embassy, who seemed to be more concerned about his expired visa than his plight of being denied his legal entitlement.

Mr. Emmanuel who is now in the fourth month in detention has called out to the Nigerian Ambassador to Korea -Mr. Mohammed Ali Magashi- in a new letter to come to his aid and save him from the injustice he is currently suffering, and potentially going to suffer if he continues to remain in detention without getting his legal entitlement.

Below are pictures of the letters/documents Mr. Emmanuel sent to the Korean immigration authorities, the Nigerian Embassy, and the Nigerian ambassador to Korea.
There are also pictures of the before/after photos of his left hand.

We hope Mr Emmanuel gets justice!
Source: naijahitplay.com

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