The Nigerian government has secured the release of 60 Nigerians imprisoned in Tanzania for various crimes bordering on drug-related offences and immigration law violations.
Mr Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Nigeria in Diaspora Commission’s Head of Media and Public Relations Unit said the repatriation was made possible by the Nigerian ambassador to Tanzania.
He revealed that the mission has been visiting other custodial facilities in Tanzania to find other Nigerians, who may be serving jail terms. Balogun further added that amnesty was granted to the Nigerian prisoners based on the Coronavirus pandemic.
The NIDCOM spokesperson said;
“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.
“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.”
The statement reads in full;
