Nigeria, Ethiopia Seal Prisoner Transfer Deal for Over 100 Citizens

Nigeria and Ethiopia have signed a bilateral prisoner transfer agreement enabling more than 100 Nigerian inmates held in Ethiopian correctional facilities to be repatriated and complete their sentences in Nigeria. The accord was formalized in Addis Ababa during high-level diplomatic negotiations involving Nigeria's Attorney General and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi and Ethiopia's Justice Minister Hanna Arayaselassi, with Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu overseeing the arrangement.

Under the pact, Nigerian citizens convicted in Ethiopia may request transfer to Nigerian prisons to serve their remaining sentences, provided legal requirements established by both nations are satisfied. Ethiopian authorities similarly gain the right to request that their convicted citizens serve out sentences in Ethiopian facilities. The agreement targets inmates currently held at Kaliti Prison and Aba Samuel Prison in Ethiopia, both facilities previously cited in reports regarding conditions for foreign detainees.

Officials characterized the deal as a humanitarian measure designed to safeguard the rights and welfare of Nigerian nationals incarcerated abroad. The arrangement follows sustained diplomatic engagement between the two countries focused on strengthening consular relations and addressing concerns related to the treatment and conditions faced by foreign prisoners in Ethiopian detention centres.

The transfer pact represents one of the latest bilateral initiatives between Nigeria and Ethiopia on justice and consular matters. Fagbemi and Ojukwu jointly announced the breakthrough, positioning it as an outcome of collaborative engagement between both governments' justice and foreign affairs ministries.