Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, visit to Aba Samuel Prison in Ethiopia. (NAN)
The Federal Government has said the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement with Ethiopia, aimed at repatriating incarcerated Nigerians, is in line with the citizen diplomacy framework of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, stated this in a statement issued on Friday and signed by the Special Assistant on Communication and New Media in the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Magnus Eze.
She described the agreement as an important diplomatic milestone that prioritises the welfare of Nigerians in the diaspora and reflects ongoing efforts to intervene in cases involving Nigerians facing difficulties abroad.
The minister dismissed a purported list circulating on various media platforms regarding the names and number of Nigerian inmates in Ethiopian prisons as fake, insisting that Nigeria does not have 136 inmates in the country.
She also described some of the crimes attributed to the inmates in the circulating reports as unfounded, adding that the government is determined to bring the inmates home to serve their sentences with dignity and without being exposed to inhumane conditions.
According to her, efforts had been made for many years to secure the return of the prisoners to Nigeria, amid challenges in obtaining accurate data on the number of Nigerian inmates in Ethiopia.
The minister said the inmates are being held in Kaliti and Aba Samuel prisons, both maximum-security facilities, stressing the need to sign the agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons.
“Essentially, if prisoners have been sentenced in one country and they are serving a jail term in that country, they can return to their state or country of origin to serve out the sentence.
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“This is important because the inmates in those prisons have been agitating for so many years to return to Nigeria to complete their jail terms.
“This is in view of their precarious living conditions, health challenges, inadequate medical facilities, poor feeding, denial of visitation rights, inadequate legal services and language barriers, among other things.”
She said four Nigerian prisoners had died during the period it took both countries to finalise the agreement.
“Some of these young people that I saw when I went into that prison could have been anybody’s brother. So, should they be faced with such a precarious situation for one mistake?” the minister queried.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu, however, dismissed concerns that the inmates would be freed upon their return to Nigeria and rejected allegations that the prisoners were from a particular region of the country, stressing that crime has no ethnic or regional affiliation.
According to her, one of the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding between both countries is an undertaking not to grant pardon or amnesty to any transferred prisoner without the consent of the sentencing state.
“The list trending online is a made-up list. We don’t have 136 inmates in Aba Samuel and Kaliti prisons. Those that are the subject of this agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons are 98 inmates in those prisons.
“A lot of them are from the South-East. There are also those from the South-West and the South-South. Crime has no ethnicity. All these people are Nigerian citizens in a foreign jail,” she said. (NAN)
Read the full article at The Punch →📄Source document: Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
4 reports
The PunchIndependentCenter2 days agoThe Nigerian Federal Government has announced a Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement with Ethiopia, aimed at repatriating incarcerated Nigerians. The agreement is aligned with President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda. Foreign Affairs Minister Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu emphasized the importance of the deal for the welfare of Nigerians abroad and dismissed claims about the number of Nigerian inmates in Ethiopia as false.
Bias read (Center): The article presents the government's position on the prisoner transfer agreement without overtly favoring any political side. It includes direct quotes from the Foreign Affairs Minister and addresses both the agreement itself and the dismissal of unverified claims. There is no evident ideological倾向
Official sources cited
- government Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Vanguard NigeriaIndependentRight7 days agoMinister of Works David Umahi claims that the South East region will reject Peter Obi in the 2027 election and support President Bola Tinubu due to infrastructure development under Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda. Umahi highlights the revival of colonial-era road projects, including the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue Trans-Saharan Superhighway, as evidence of Tinubu's achievements.
Bias read (Right): The article presents a strong endorsement of President Tinubu's policies and infrastructure projects, using favorable language such as 'actualized abandoned colonial era roads' and 'strategic importance.' It frames opposition to Peter Obi as a rejection of his candidacy based on perceived failures,
Official sources cited
- government Minister of Works, Eng. David Umahi
Vanguard NigeriaIndependentCenter7 days ago Tinubu reviving abandoned South-East road projects – UmahiSenator Dave Umahi, Nigeria's Minister of Works, announced that several South-East road projects initiated during the colonial era but previously abandoned are now being implemented under President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda. During an inspection tour in Ebonyi, Umahi highlighted the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue Trans-Saharan Superhighway as a key project aimed at boosting economic activity in the South-East, South-South, and parts of the North-Central regions. He provided details on the progress of Sections One and Two of the highway, noting the significant investment and current development.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual information about infrastructure projects under the Tinubu administration without overtly positive or negative commentary. It quotes government officials and provides specific figures and project details, maintaining a neutral tone.
Official sources cited
- government Statement by Mr Tunde Rahman, Director of Media and Publicity, Renewed Hope Ambassadors
The PunchIndependentCenter10 days ago Tinubu links tax compliance to infrastructure delivery in FCTPresident Bola Tinubu has urged residents and businesses in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to increase tax compliance, emphasizing its importance for continued infrastructure development.
Bias read (Center): The article presents a straightforward statement from President Tinubu without overtly biased language, framing, or emphasis. It does not include quotes or perspectives from opposing viewpoints, but it also does not exhibit clear slant through loaded language or selective sourcing.
NG