Please see full statement from the African Caribbean Chamber of Trade, Commerce and Industry below:
We write in response to an article published by the News Room on the 8th April 2022 titled: “SOCU warns Guyanese against falling prey to Nigerian ‘romance scams” purported to be comments attributed to the Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU). Senior Superintendent Fazil Karimbaksh which sought to relate the Nigerian identity with scams.
The African Caribbean Chamber of Trade, Commerce and Industry as a representative body for Nigerians in Guyana would like to put on record the following:
1) Nigeria is the single largest contributor to the tourism sector in Guyana by way of US$14 million annually from educational tourism which sees close to 1,000 Nigerian students being educated in Guyana.
2) The Nigerian Community in Guyana comprises medical professionals and is the second largest contributor to Guyana’s medical profession by any migrant community in Guyana.
The Nigerian community in Guyana also comprises professionals in engineering, education, security and business (entrepreneurs).
3) The Nigerian community in Guyana has one of the lowest crime rates of any migrant community in Guyana, and court records would show that there has been only one conviction of a Nigerian national over the last five years.
4) The Nigerian community has always worked with government agencies and indeed the police in the reduction of criminality of any kind within its community and therefore we are shocked at the false branding.
We wish to assure the government and indeed the good people of Guyana that our community stands ready to work with all organizations and groups in furtherance of a crime-free Guyana.
