About 776 Nigerians are serving different jail terms in foreign prisons, Senate Committee Chairman on Foreign Affairs, Senator Mathew Nwagwu disclosed Tuesday.

The revelation which followed a motion moved on the floor of the Upper House by Nwagwu (Imo North), prompted a resolution, urging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigerian embassies across the world to be more proactive on matters affecting Nigerians in countries where they are in distress.

A breakdown of the number of Nigerians serving foreign jail terms, according to Nwagwu, includes United States (62), Thailand (71), Spain (395), Malaysia (43), Cameroun (29), and Niger (30).

The Senate urged relevant Nigerian authorities to “press for redress and restitution” on behalf of 14 of 27 Nigerians deported from Spain who are said to be innocent.

It also urged the Federal Government to use diplomatic channels to register Nigeria’s disenchantment towards maltreatment of her citizens and what he alleged as wrongful deportation from Spain or any other country.

The lawmakers also urged the Ministry of foreign affairs to strengthen “our consular services in our missions abroad with a view to increasing their capacity to protect our citizens in distress and ensuring prompt legal advice is provided for them where necessary.”

While moving the motion which was co-sponsored by Senators Victor Ndoma-Egba, Senator Akin Odunsi, Senator Zainab Kure, Ita Enang, Chris Anyanwu, James Manager, Atiku Bagudu, Nenadi Usman, Hussein Mudashiru and Helen Esuene, Nwagwu lamented “unfair treatments and harassment of Nigerians in foreign countries leading to torture, intimidation, arrests, detention, deportation and occasional deaths.”

While alleging that the torture had continued for so long, Nwagwu regretted that Nigeria has been nonchalant towards the unfair treatment of its citizens, adding that lack of proper legal representation has made Nigerians vulnerable in foreign lands.

Noting that it is not in all cases that Nigerians are culpable in allegations against them, Nwagwu cited the instance of a Nigerian student in Ukraine “who was said to have defended himself with a broken bottle against six Ukrainian youths, who allegedly attacked him at the entrance of his apartment in November 2011.” He added: “Right now, he risks life imprisonment if convicted. His situation is made worse by the refusal of Ukrainian police to take his case to court on the excuse that they have not been able to get an interpreter for him.”

In his comment, Senate President, David Mark, remarked that innocent Nigerians should not be lumped together with criminals, stating that anyone who commits an offence, however, should be made to face the wrath of the law in such land.

Mark expressed the need to educate Nigerians that they will ultimately pay for their misdemeanours, regretting however, that their misdeeds bring Nigeria into disrepute.

The Senate President also expressed regrets that Nigeria’s foreign missions have not lived up to expectation by rising in defence of Nigerians in distress until cases of wrongdoing are established against them.

He also noted that Nigerian missions face acute problem ranging from inability to pay house rent, telephone bills and other running cost, submitting that staff cannot pay their children’s school fees.

He added that the foreign missions ought to reflect Nigeria’s status as the giant of Africa.

OP. Correct your title. 776 in 6 countries. By the time you add those in other countries, you will be amazed how many. Only 62 in America? Not true. How many in UK prisons?

Adura_ngba: OP. Correct your title. 776 in 6 countries. By the time you add those in other countries, you will be amazed how many. Only 62 in America? Not true. How many in UK prisons?

What were you expecting a huge number because the world say's negative things about us or are we the worst people on earth? if you doubt these facts pls tell us what we don't know...

dont we have nigerians in south africa

General02:
What were you expecting a huge number because the world say's negative things about us or are we the worst people on earth? if you doubt these facts pls tell us what we don't know...

What are you talking about? 776 in just 6 countries is already huge if you dont know. I am only saying, when you add prisoners in other countries, you will get more than 776. Truth is bitter. For your understanding, I am also Nigerian.

Why is the Senate Committee Chairman on Foreign Affairs duplicating work already already carried out by the House Committee on Diaspora Affairs?

Is this another way of justifying the huge spending on our bicameral legislature?

"South Africa’s budget spend on its parliament is lower, despite the country’s US$113 billion equivalent 2012/2013 budget which is approximately 3.5 times higher than Nigeria’s US$32 billion equivalent 2013 budget, the BusinessDay Research Report shows."
Source

If you are going to tender redundant figures from a fact finding mission, you stand a better chance of carrying some members of your audience along if your data was gathered diligently in the first place.

During the visit of United Kingdom’s Minister of Immigration, Damian Green, to Nigeria last year, he said there were about 6,000 Nigerians incarcerated in various prison facilities in the UK.

The Chairman, House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, during a fact-finding mission to Brazil, returned with a chilling story of 456 Nigerians being held in various prisons across the South-American country.

As at February [2012], 500 Nigerians were in jails across India and another 1,000 in Chinese prisons.

Source

Adura_ngba:

What are you talking about? 776 in just 6 countries is already huge if you dont know. I am only saying, when you add prisoners in other countries, you will get more than 776. Truth is bitter. For your understanding, I am also Nigerian.

No doubt in what your saying, but at-least now the people representing us who are deliberating on the issue because the embarrassment is getting out of hand especially with foreign security agencies harassing Nigerians....

There are tens of thousands of Nigerians in foreign jails. Anyone who believes that number in the article is seriously clueless. In the UK alone, there are more than that number.

Okay with all said and join!!!! A committee will be setup to look into the matter with funds for traveling allowance, hotel allowance, eating allowance sitting allowance and etc.... Another avenue to make money....

Obi1kenobi: There are tens of thousands of Nigerians in foreign jails. Anyone who believes that number in the article is seriously clueless. In the UK alone, there are more than that number.

the number of nigerians in south Africa's prison is 152.. I don't have an online source, I heard it on the radio here.