The Indian Ambassador to Nigeria on Thursday was summoned to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the attacks on their citizens, News Agency of Nigeria reported. Indian Ambassador Nagabushana Reddy told the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Olushola Enikanolaiye that the incident was “deplorable”.

Saying that this was not the first time that an incident of this nature was reported, Enikanolaiye demanded a “diligent prosecution” of those responsible to deter any future attacks. “We think this should not have happened considering the excellent relationship between two of us — the two countries have things in common and have been great friends,” Enikanolaiye said. He urged his Indian counterpart to register their concern. The official said the ministry was concerned that the incidents may affect bilateral relations, the Nigerian news agency reported.

Reddy told the official that the Indian government had already condemned the incident and deployed security forces to maintain peace and order in the area.

Condemning the attack on four Nigerian students, officials from the country called on the Indian government to protect its nationals and punish the perpetrators, local daily Punch reported on Wednesday. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa (pictured above), also advised Nigerians to “be of good behaviour anywhere they found themselves, as any form of crime and criminality is unacceptable and will have consequences.”

President Muhammadu Buhari’s aide also commended India for its “prompt action” in the matter. Nigeria’s Chargé d’affaires Queen Worlu had visited the injured students, the daily reported. While telling her compatriots to remain calm, she urged India to “to ensure that any alleged suspect should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Nigeria’s Daily Post reported.

Meanwhile, nationals from Several African countries have said they are living in fear and are subjected to racism, Hindustan Times reported. “We come to India to live in peace but we will not be bullied by force or violence,” a student told the daily.

What triggered the violence

The situation in Greater Noida has been heated since March 24 evening when a Class 12 student went missing. Soon, rumours had spread that the teenager was last seen with a group of Nigerians. A crowd had raided the home of these African students and, when they failed to find Manish Khari, they accused the Nigerians of cannibalism. It was later found that the 19-year-old had died of a suspected drug overdose on Saturday. Five Nigerian students living in the neighbourhood were booked for murder and later released for lack of evidence.

On Monday, a group of residents had organised a protest at the Pari Chowk junction. Four Nigerian students were injured when a group of more than 100 locals attacked them, demanding that all Africans living in residential colonies in Greater Noida be asked to vacate their rented houses immediately. The Greater Noida Police on Tuesday had conducted a flag march on Tuesday and booked almost 600 people for rioting and another 44 for attempt to murder in connection with the attack. The police have arrested seven people so far.

In a related incident, two other African students were attacked inside a Delhi mall on Monday evening. On Wednesday, group of men assaulted a a Kenyan woman in Greater Noida, strengthening allegations of racism.

In November 2013, clashes between a mob of 200 Nigerians and locals broke out in Goa after the body of a Nigerian was found with stab wounds in Parra, NDTV had reported. The state government was criticised for its “racist handling of the matter” where ministers compared the country’s nationals to a “cancer” and labelled them as a community of drug traders, Firstpost had reported.