250 to Die: Jailed in Ethiopia for being Nigerians?

VANGUARD

This definitely is not the best of times for Nigeria especially as it regards her international image. The country’s image crisis is largely enclosed in the unfortunate perception of the citizens as criminals just because of wrong acts by a few unpatriotic individuals.

Stories about Nigerian nationals serving various jail sentences, those who have died mysteriously in foreign prisons, as well as individuals either on death row or have been executed particularly for trafficking drugs in foreign countries, are no longer new. And that’s how bad things have become!

Dr Paul Ezike’s video on the alleged plight of Nigerian inmates in the notorious Kaliti Prison in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, is upsetting. It again, brings to the fore the precarious situations Nigerians are subjected to abroad for one reason or the other; or no reason at all, except for being Nigerian.

In addition to the heart-rending number of Nigerians executed for drug trafficking in countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, China, Thailand, Malaysia and many others, there are reports about many who died while serving jail terms for no known crime. Just this year, there were the pathetic cases of Ms Favour Chizoba and Mr. Joachim Uchenna Nwanneneme, who died in questionable manners, leaving no doubt in the minds of people that their deaths were not natural. They both died in the same Kaliti prison. Isn’t this evident that people could be right about that prison?

In the viral video, Dr Ezike stated that if nothing is done, more than 250 Nigerians will die, while calling on Nigerians and relevant authorities to intervene. Most of the prisoners, Ezike said are innocent travellers passing through Ethiopia airport which is a transit hub.

According to him, “Once you have a green passport, you are like a suspect. They will keep you aside, delay you and make you miss your flight. Get you angry and once you start agitating and agitating they will tell you well, you need to pay $5,000 to get another flight back to your country. When you don’t have the money and you complain that they searched you and found nothing, delayed you and made you miss your flight… When you talk so much, they will take you straight to the hospital and when they check and find nothing, they take you straight to prison.” While the traveller is in prison, Ezike said they will serve him a paper showing that he will serve 18 to 20 years imprisonment without taking him to the court.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already refuted the allegations of the video by Ezike, on the alleged plight of Nigerian inmates in the Kaliti Prison in Ethiopia, stating that “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers Dr. Ezike’s narration as exaggerated and blown out of proportion, while his assertion of inaction by the Nigerian Mission in Addis Ababa to the alleged plight of Nigerian inmates, is unfair and misleading.”

The 250 Nigerians in prison that Ezike mentioned in his video, for whatever reason, is less than the number stated by the same ministry of Foreign Affairs. Whichever, whether over 250 or 270, this is disastrous and shameful enough for this country.

The important thing is that the ministry agrees that there are over 270 Nigerian nationals serving various prison terms in Ethiopia alone, though it added that most are incarcerated for drug related offences. “There are over 270 Nigerian nationals serving various prison terms in Ethiopia. Most of them are incarcerated for drug related offences. The Nigerian Mission in Addis Ababa, as with other Nigerian Missions world over, embarks on regular consular visits to these prisons to ascertain and attend to the wellbeing of Nigerian inmates, and in the same vein engage with host authorities on their behalf.”