The Canada High Commission in Nigeria has responded to a statement from Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, that the Canadian embassy denied him and other top military officers visas.
General Musa and top military officers who were supposed to be in Canada on Wednesday were denied visas by the Canadian embassy on Tuesday. He narrated the disappointing ordeal on Thursday while giving a lecture at the maiden National Association of the Institute for Security Studies (AANISS), in Abuja.
“Every disappointment is a blessing. Yesterday (Wednesday), I was meant to be in Canada. There’s an event to honour our veterans, those that were injured during battles, and we were meant to be there,” Musa partly said. The visa issue also generated condemnation from the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu who told Canada “they can go to hell” for denying General Musa’s visa.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji Ojo also described the visa denial as a disrespect to Nigeria.
However, in a brief statement, on its X handle, on Friday, the Canada High Commission, said for privacy purposes, it would not provide any comment on the visa issues of the persons involved.
“The High Commission of Canada in Nigeria is aware of media reports related to planned travel to Canada by senior officials. “However, for privacy reasons, we are unable to provide any comment on the status of visa applications of specific individuals,” it read.
