Are Igbos In Vietnam Under Attack?
On July 17, 2025, an X user @NoNonsensezone made a claim that the Igbos in Vietnam are being attacked and expelled from Vietnam. The post was acommpanied by a one-minute video showing a group of people in a heated encounter with uniformed men, with the inscription, ‘Igbo tribe from Nigeria chased out of VIETNAM’ on the video.
@NoNonsensezone’s post was captioned, “BREAKING NEWS: IGBOS IN VIETNAM ARE BEING ATTACKED! A video coming out of Vietnam shows the Igbo Ethnic Group from Nigeria having a showdown with the Vietnamese Authorities. One said they are chasing Igbos away from Vietnam, another one said they are fighting us, they are killing us one by one. This aligns with the “ Igbo must go “ that is currently going on in Ghana as Ghanaians are getting ready for a massive protest to expel the igbo Tribe from their country. “ They claim the crime rate in Ghana has increased since the Igbos started coming to Ghana “ The Igbo representatives in Vietnam should check on their people and douse the tension”.
When this report was published, this claim had reached over over 1.4 million people and had about 1,713 likes, comments, shares and bookmarks. In the comment section, @RayRayyy136 wrote “Abeg, Leave them. He just da pain me say na dem be the face of Nigeria, honestly” and @oyebosunday said “This is an attack against Nigerians not just an Igbo thing. Vietnamese would not really be able to identify Igbo person or Yorúbá or Hausa differently”.
VERIFICATION
The video claiming that Igbos are being attacked in Vietnam first appeared on July 17, 2025, it was posted by an Instagram account named northernblog, under the caption: “IGBOS IN VIETNAM ARE BEING ATTACKED”. The same footage also circulated on Facebook via multiple pages, here and here. The video was posted as a 3 minutes 10 seconds on Facebook reel by Ebalsblog who described the incident in the video as Nigerians confronting Vietnamese authorities during immigration checks for visa overstay.
A careful look at inscription on the vehicle and tactical shield showed it had the incription ‘Cảnh sát Cơ động and CSCĐ’. Checks confirm that this is the name of Vietnam’s Mobile Police Command. According to Article 3 of Vietnam’s Law on Mobile Police 2022, the mobile police are the people's armed forces of the Vietnam People's Public Security, the core force in the implementation of armed measures to protect national security and ensure social order and safety. Their responsibilities include responding to major public disturbances, terrorist threats, and natural disasters.
Although the CSCĐ might be called on in specific situations that intertwine with immigration such as border security or large-scale public events; their primary role is not immigration control. Immigration enforcement is typically handled by specialised units within the Ministry of Public Security that focus on border control, visa processing, and deportation.
As at the time this report was published, there has been no official statement from the Nigerian Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, indicating that Nigerians or the Igbo ethnic group are being targeted for attacks and deportation. There has been no official communication or news report from Vietnamese authorities supporting the claim that they are expelling Igbos or any specific ethnic group from the country. However, Guardian News reports that the confrontation might have been triggered by fears of mass deportation of Nigerians from Vietnam.
Vietnam increased its immigration enforcement in recent years, targeting foreigners who have overstayed visas or work without authorisation. Decree No. 144/2021/ND‑CP outlines fines for overstaying visas ranging from around VND 500,000 to VND 20 million depending on duration. Serious cases result in deportation and longer re‑entry bans, enforced uniformly regardless of nationality. These actions affect multiple nationalities, including people from Africa, but there is no evidence that they target Igbos or Nigerians specifically.
CONCLUSION
Claims suggesting targeted expulsion or violence against the Igbo community in Vietnam are MISLEADING. While the video is originally from Vietnam, a Guardian news report linked the confrontation to fears of mass deportation and not a crackdown on any community. The country's current enforcement of stricter immigration and labor rules is a legitimate government action affecting foreign nationals from various countries.
