The Federal Government has defended its decision to sign a Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement with Ethiopia, describing the move as a humanitarian and diplomatic effort aimed at protecting the rights and welfare of Nigerians imprisoned abroad.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, said the agreement aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s citizen diplomacy policy, which prioritizes the welfare of Nigerians in the diaspora. She noted that the arrangement would allow convicted Nigerians serving prison terms in Ethiopia to return home and complete their sentences under more humane conditions.
The minister dismissed reports circulating on social media claiming that 136 Nigerians were imprisoned in Ethiopia, describing the list as false and misleading. According to her, only 98 inmates are covered by the agreement, while some of the crimes attributed to those on the viral list were entirely fabricated.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu explained that negotiations for the prisoner transfer arrangement had taken several years due to difficulties in obtaining accurate records of Nigerian inmates held in Ethiopia’s Kaliti and Aba Samuel maximum-security prisons. She said many of the prisoners had repeatedly complained about poor living conditions, inadequate healthcare, poor feeding, language barriers, limited legal support, and restrictions on visitation.
The minister revealed that four Nigerian inmates died before the agreement was finalized, underscoring the urgency of the initiative. She stressed that the government’s objective is not to secure the release of the prisoners but to ensure they serve their sentences with dignity and closer to their families.
Addressing concerns that transferred inmates could be pardoned upon arrival in Nigeria, she clarified that the memorandum expressly prohibits any pardon or amnesty without the consent of the sentencing country. She also rejected claims that the inmates were predominantly from a particular region, emphasizing that crime has no ethnic or regional identity and that all affected persons are Nigerian citizens deserving of consular protection.
