A report by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Matters at the ongoing national conference on Tuesday in Abuja disclosed that more than 752 Nigerians were languishing in UK jails. The report also said that about 700 Nigerians were also serving various jail terms in China, 500 in India and 96 in Indonesia out of which 23 had been on death row.

The report of the committee headed by a former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, discussed how Nigerian prisoners serving outside the country could be repatriated home to complete their jail terms. Gambari alleged that, not long ago, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, proposed that Nigerian prisoners serving jail in Britain be repatriated to Nigeria in a prisoner exchange programme the report said.

It noted that while it is the duty of Nigeria to protect and defend the interests of its nationals wherever they are (even in prison), the extent to which it can engage in prisoner exchange, given the fact that it has its hands full even now and the state of prisons is not at par with international standards, is very limited.

Nonetheless, the committee recommends that where it is established that a prisoner serving in a Fleming hail is a Nigerian, he or she deserves a prisoner swap or exchange, the report said. The report, however, said those willing to return home to complete their jail term must be screened in order to ascertain whether they are actually Nigerians or not.