The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has defended its work on citizens held in a New Delhi deportation camp, after journalist, Rufai Oseni and others accused the agency of moving too slowly to free a detainee named Ekene and more than 200 other Nigerians at Lampur.

NiDCOM Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa shared an official reply on Sunday. The commission said India ran a targeted amnesty for undocumented Nigerian migrants from 1 May 2025. The six-month window was later extended by three months after talks by Nigeria’s high commissioner. More than 4,000 Nigerians went home under that programme without extra penalties, NiDCOM said.

Those who did not regularise their status or leave during the grace period were later arrested and placed in deportation camps, the commission added. It said Ekene was among that group and was not the only Nigerian waiting for deportation.

Public pressure has focused on conditions in the camp and on whether people who bought tickets and obtained travel papers have still been blocked from leaving. NiDCOM’s line is that many of those still held missed a documented exit route. Detainees and their families say they need the embassy and the commission to finish the paperwork and get them on flights.

The dispute is now between an agency citing an expired amnesty and a public that wants names, dates and departures. Indian immigration law still governs who can leave. Nigeria’s high commission and NiDCOM remain the channels families expect to use.