Nigerians wary after killing of national in the Indian state of Goa NEW DELHI, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Nigeria's senior diplomat in India said his countrymen living throughout the country feel unsafe after the killing of a Nigerian national in the resort state of Goa. Tensions between Nigerians and police have been high since a Nigerian man was stabbed to death and five others wounded Oct. 30. Police later arrested 53 Nigerians who were among about 200 Nigerians blocking Goa's main highway for several hours to protest the killing. Police, who made an arrest this week in the suspected murder case, blamed the killing on rivalry between local and Nigerian drug traffickers. Goa's Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar also asked the police to track down Nigerians living illegally in the state and deport them. Ndubuisi Vitus Amaku, Nigeria's high commissioner to India, told the BBC that he fears for the safety of the 40,000 Nigerians living throughout India and that he was "aggrieved" by Parrikar's call for deportations that came so soon after the killing. "Indians need to understand that a large number of Nigerians are living legally in India and even if some are living illegally, there are laws in place to deal with that and those should be implemented," Amaku told the BBC. If Nigerians are living illegally (in Goa), you don't wait till their compatriot is murdered before you go around picking them up and threatening them with deportation. That's like rubbing salt in their wounds. The BBC also reported that another Nigerian diplomat had warned of repercussions against Indians living in Nigeria because of the killing and call for deportations in Goa. More than 800,000 Indians live in Nigeria and they own about 100,000 businesses. Goan police said this week that they had made an arrest in the killing of Nigerian national Obado Uzoma Simeon and have several other suspects, the Times of India reported. Goa, on the west coast of India, is a former Portuguese colony that was annexed by India in 1961. Since then, India's smallest state -- less than 1,500 square miles -- and predominantly Christian state, has become an international tourist mecca thanks to its tropical climate and large coastal hotel developments. Simeon was stabbed to death north of the capital Panji in the village of Parra, an area home to many Nigerians, the Times of India reported. Goan police have been investigating since May last year a suspected drugs trafficking ring operated by Nigerians living in Goa. A report by the Times at the time said police had arrested a 37-year-old Nigerian man for possession of more than half a pound of cocaine and marijuana. Police said they suspected Nigerians were running the drugs from Mumbai and New Delhi. Africans, including Nigerians, living legally in Mumbai are feeling insecure because of suspicions by police and security authorities about drugs trafficking, the BBC reported in April. Nigerian Sambo Davis, a legal immigrant married to an Indian woman, told the BBC that he had been arrested by police on suspicion of being a drug dealer. He and 30 other black Africans were detained for hours before they were released with an apology. Davis said he also faces discrimination in restaurants or when he tries to rent an apartment in gated middle-class communities. But he said he found a good apartment to rent, thanks to his wife being Indian.