85 Nigerians languishing in Ivorian prisons

About 85 Nigerians are currently facing trials for different offences in prisons in Abidjan, capital of Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria’s ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire, Mrs. Ifeoma Akabogu-Chinwuba, told NAN on Tuesday.

According to Akabogu-Chinwuba, an official list from the prison authorities put the number of imprisoned Nigerians at 85, although only 70 of the prisoners were seen during a consular visit to the prisons.

“We were able to see about 70 of them instead of the 85 on the list,” she said.

“Majority of those on the list are awaiting trial. Most of them are detained for charges bothering on drug, money laundering and human trafficking.”

She admonished Nigerians residing in the country to project the country in good light, but assured them that the embassy would do its best to provide legal assistance to those standing trial to enable them get fair hearing.

“Our duty as an embassy is to protect the rights of our citizens. So within the limits of the law, we are doing that.

“It is not a good testimony to hear that our citizens are either in prison or detained for criminal acts; we need to be good ambassadors of our country. As Nigerians, we need to engage in legitimate businesses; we need to protect the image of our country.”

Nigerians are regularly exiting the country en masse to seek greener pastures in different parts of the world, and a handful of them are imprisoned in these countries.

In Thailand last month, the prison authorities notified Nigeria of its intention to repatriate 70 Nigerians serving different jail sentences in the southeast Asian country.