Federal Government has secured the release of 60 Nigerians who were sentenced to prisons in Tanzania for various offences.
Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Head, Media and Public Relations Unit, Nigeria in the Diaspora Commission made this known in a statement available to newsmen.
The statement reads:
“Ever before COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigerian Mission had been working on repatriation of Nigerian prisoners in Tanzania.
“The Ambassador, Dr Sahobi Gada, was in Nigeria in January 2020, specifically for this purpose after having successfully secured a release of 60 out of 73 Nigerians in various prisons in Tanzania. Arrangements were then being made by the Ambassador for their repatriation.”
Balogun explained that many of the Nigerian prisoners were sentenced for drug-related charges while others were found guilty of violating Tanzania immigration laws. He also disclosed that the Federal government paid over 50,000 for each of the 60 prisoners released.
“For each of the 73 Nigerians in the prison, the mission had paid 330, 000 shillings (N55,544) as court fees and was always represented in court. The mission had also successfully negotiated the repatriation of 60 prisoners.”
“It is disheartening to note that while the mission successfully sought a reprieve for 60 inmates, a Nigerian returning to Nigeria after working in Tanzania for three years was caught with hard drugs at Zanzibar and has since been charged before a Zanzibar High Court for possession of illegal drugs”