By Augustine Aminu
The Nigerian community in Cote d’Ivoire has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently address the plight of Nigerians languishing in harsh conditions in Ivorian prisons.
The appeal highlights the alarming number of detainees, many of whom are reportedly innocent, detained due to administrative issues or extortion by opposition groups.
Briefing journalists in Abuja, on Thursday, Chief Davidson Ogbu, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Community in Cote d’Ivoire and Coordinator of the Delta State Community, urged the federal government to collaborate with Ivorian authorities to secure the release of detainees unjustly imprisoned and ensure improved conditions for those serving sentences.
Ogbu emphasized that many of the prisoners are sick and lack the financial means to resolve their administrative cases, leaving them stranded behind bars.
He noted that the situation requires urgent attention to prevent further deterioration of their health and potential loss of lives.
Ogbu called on the Nigerian government to address the systemic issues leading to these detentions and provide necessary support to ensure justice and improved welfare for Nigerian citizens abroad.
His words, “I am raising this alarm because of the huge numbers of Nigerians languishing in Cote d’Ivoire prisons. I want the federal government to intervene because some of them are going through inhumane conditions.
“Some of them did not commit crime, they just need administrative clearance. There is a need for our federal government to intervene at this time because the huge number of Nigerians in prison is so enormous that it is becoming so alarming.
“Many of them were thrown into prison by some of the elements who will go to the villages and arrest these women and extort them, and those who could not [pay] are kept in the prison.
“Many of them are sick, and many of them don’t have the administrative fee to free themselves. Little, little things are what is holding them. Nigerian government needs to intervene, maybe through the Prison Service in Nigeria by collaborating with the Prison Service in Cote d’Ivoire, and see how they can give better conditions to Nigerian prisoners.”
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