Nigeria and Ethiopia have signed a prisoner transfer agreement. The deal will allow over 100 Nigerian inmates to serve their remaining sentences back home.
Both governments formally executed the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement this week. It creates a legal framework for moving convicted citizens between the two nations.
Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu made the announcement on Thursday. She confirmed that more than 100 Nigerians are currently imprisoned in Ethiopian facilities.
The repatriation process has already started, according to the minister. She warned that administrative and diplomatic procedures mean the transfers won't happen overnight.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu stressed humanitarian grounds as the agreement's foundation. Nigeria wants to protect its citizens held in foreign prisons, she said.
During a visit to Ethiopian detention centres, the minister met personally with Nigerian inmates. She promised them the government hadn't forgotten about their situation.
"Your country will not abandon you; your President is aware you are here," she told them. Her words offered reassurance to prisoners awaiting transfer home.
Officials say the agreement reflects Nigeria's commitment to ensuring no citizen languishes in vulnerable conditions abroad. The transfers are expected to conclude gradually over coming months.
