The Nigerian government has refuted allegations that Nigerian inmates are being mistreated in Kaliti Prison, Ethiopia.
The allegations were made in a viral video by one Dr. Paul Ezike. In the video, Ezike claimed that Nigerian inmates were being treated differently from other inmates and that they were not receiving adequate medical care.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Ezike’s allegations were “exaggerated and blown out of proportion.” The ministry said that the Nigerian Mission in Addis Ababa regularly visits prisons to ascertain the well-being of Nigerian inmates and that the Ethiopian authorities have maintained that Nigerian inmates are not treated differently from other inmates.
The ministry also said that the Nigerian government is in the process of finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ethiopian government on the transfer of prisoners. This will allow Nigerian inmates to serve their sentences in Nigeria, where they can be closer to their families.
The ministry also addressed the deaths of two Nigerian inmates in Kaliti Prison in recent months. The ministry said that Ms. Favour Chizoba died of cardiac arrest and that Mr. Joachim Uchenna Nwanneneme died of kidney failure.
The ministry said that prison conditions are not ideal, but that the Nigerian government is working to improve them. The ministry also called on Nigerians to avoid transnational organized crimes, such as drug and human trafficking, which can lead to imprisonment in foreign countries.
The ministry said that the Nigerian government will continue to engage with the Ethiopian authorities to address any concerns about the treatment of Nigerian inmates.
