Ministry, 60 pardoned Nigerian prisoners in Ethiopia differ over fate

TRACKING___Sixty Nigerian prisoners granted pardon by the Ethiopian Government have allegedly remained in the detention facility following failures of the Nigerian Embassy in Addis Ababa to process their evacuation.

The Nigerians, in a Save Our Soul (SoS) message, lamented that despite their pardon on March 26 to decongest prisons in response to COVID-19 pandemic, the embassy had refused to clear them.

But, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the pardoned prisoners have not been abandoned in Ethiopia.

Its spokesperson, Mr. Ferdinand Nwoye, said though it was “a regrettable delay, the ministry is doing everything possible to ensure their evacuation”.

He said there evacuation is a different case given the nature of their situation, which, therefore, demands the involvement of Ministry of Interior.

He, however, assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working towards their evacuation. Nwoye assured them that “the embassy has not forgotten them. The embassy has been working hard to ensure their evacuation.

“Their evacuation is different from the normal case as the Ministry of Interior has to be involved.

“So, the ministry has being working hard to ensure their evacuation.”

It was gathered that of 4,011 prisoners of different nationalities released by Ethiopia to return to their countries, only Nigerians were left stranded in the detention facility.

One of the affected Nigerians, Charles Okeke, who spoke on behalf of others, said they were serving their prison terms at the Kaliti Federal Prison before their pardon.

He said the consular-general sent members of the Nigerian Embassy to them on April 6, to collect their passports with a promise that the Federal Government would send a flight to take them back home.

Okeke said two weeks later, the embassy asked them to pay $1,000 each for their flight ticket and $50 each for their exit visa.

He explained that all of them mounted pressure on their family members at home and paid the fees.