The Federal Government has expressed deep concerns about the conditions of Nigerians serving jail terms in Ethiopia.
The Chairman, of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa noted that most of the Nigerians in the Ethiopian jail were arrested for drug-related offences.
This was made known in a statement signed by the spokesperson, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abdur-Rahman Balogun on Wednesday.
Dabiri-Erewa disclosed that –
“the Nigerian Mission in Ethiopia has proposed an MOU from the Nigerian Correctional Service on the transfer of sentenced persons to Nigeria with the Ethiopian authorities to complete their respective jail terms in Nigeria, and are awaiting a response from Ethiopia.
“Though Ethiopia had granted an amnesty to Nigerian prisoners in 2019, a number of Nigerians still found their way back to the country and allegedly still committed the same drug-related crimes and were re-arrested.”
This was as the Federal Government and the Nigerian Mission in Ethiopia demanded a full investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of a Nigerian, Chizoba Eze, in Ethiopian prison.
Eze was said to have died in Kaliti Prison, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on March 12, 2023, following alleged physical aggression.
Dabiri-Erewa condoled with Eze’s family while expressing concerns about the conditions of Nigerians in Ethiopian prisons.
cc: Punch Ng