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Nigerian govt seeks repatriation of Nigerians in Ethiopian jails following citizen’s death

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The Nigerian government has reached out to the Ethiopian government for a transfer of Nigerian citizens currently serving prison terms in the country to be repatriated back to Nigeria.

The step, according to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCom) followed the death of Nigerian lady, Chizoba Favor Eze, in an Ethiopian prison.

In a statement on Wednesday signed by the NiDCom spokesperson, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the government assured that the Nigerian Mission in Ethiopia will demand a full investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of Eze while serving a prison sentence.

The deceased, the statement said, reportedly died in Kaliti prison, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on March 12, 2023, following alleged physical assault by security operatives.

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Balogun said the NiDCoM Chairman, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has consoled the family of the late Eze and expressed concern over the reported conditions of some Nigerians serving various jail terms in Ethiopia, most of whom were drug-related.

“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,” the statement reads.

“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,” it added.

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