Nigerians detained in Ethiopia in limbo after repatriation treaty – Okoye, Coordinator, TBNI

• Urges FG to fast-track return of prisoners to Nigeria

By Dickson Okafor

Lawyer and National Coordinator, Take Back Nigeria Initiative (TBNI), Abumchukwu N. Okoye, says he is deeply disturbed that the initial wave of joy, which lifted the spirits of Nigerians wrongly detained in Ethiopia is fast turning into despair.

Okoye’s law firm, which represented the detainees, valiantly fought in a Federal High Court and secured a favourable judgement that paved the way for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to sign the Exchange of Prisoners Treaty between Nigeria and Ethiopia and laid the foundation for the pending repatriation of the detainees.

Okoye is angry that the logistics for their repatriation continues to be prolonged, in the face of the fast approach of the deadline set by Ethiopian authorities.

In this interview, he also lauds the Executive and Legislative branches of the Federal Government for the passage of State Police Bill, saying that when assented by President Bola Tinubu and ratified by the states, State Police Act will help tackle insecurity.

The court case won by your law firm laid the foundation for the treaty signed by Nigeria and Ethiopia for the repatriation of Nigerians detained in that country. Have the detainees been repatriated?

No, they are not back to Nigeria. We are still waiting for the Nigerian Government to get us informed on the next steps to take, to ensure that Nigerian prisoners and detainees in Ethiopian prisons are brought back into the country. Since the treaty between Nigeria and Ethiopia for exchange of prisoners was signed, we are yet to receive any update. We are not saying we are aggrieved, but we expect the government to avail us and the Nigerian public a copy of the signed and gazette treaty. For example, after the signing of the agreement what is the timeline for enforcement? We are aware that such an agreement will take 30 days or more for Nigerian prisoners in Ethiopia to be brought back. The Ethiopian Government has to give our government details on the offence committed, date of trials, the judgment backing the conviction and the sentence, where they come from and when they will be brought back to Nigeria. The Ethiopian government must supply all these details. Moreover, the Nigerian government officials need to carry us along.

As I speak, the Take Back Nigeria Initiative and my Chamber that fought for the treaty are in the dark about what is really happening. All the necessary information should not take time to reach us, because the Ethiopian government has the required information in its database. The Treaty was signed on June 10, 2026 and we expect that by July 30, 2026 the prisoners and detainees should be back to Nigeria.

Are these prisoners and detainees coming back to complete their prison sentence or are they going to be set free?

Based on the provisions of the Exchange of Prisoners Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is expected that those who have committed crimes would serve their remaining terms in Nigerian prisons. That is why we need data on the day of arrest, arraignment in court, the judgment in court, and sentencing properly handed.

There has been some controversy as to who should bear the cost of the return tickets? Please, what is the true position?

As an insider and counsel to the prisoners, we wrote a letter in 2024 to the Nigeria Diaspora Commission on the issue of who bears the cost. There was a discussion on how the government and the families would be able to help with the logistics as Plan B. However, it is supposed to be the responsibility of the government because when prisoners are being exchanged the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy are supposed to be represented. That is the way the matter is being handled, but in case that our input is needed we will do so.

After signing the agreement I heard a voice in a message to the prisoners and detainees that the government has taken over the responsibility of bringing back the prisoners and detainees. No matter how they return, my only concern is to see them arrive Nigeria safely.

But if the families of these prisoners and detainees are ready to fund the logistics, what then is delaying their return?

  The families are eager to see them return, but the prisoners said that somebody called Amuda at the Nigerian Embassy in Ethiopia sent them a voice note that informed them that the Federal Government had decided to bear the cost of bringing them back to Nigeria. For this reason, the families stopped paying for the repatriation. I am surprised and concerned at what is happening now. The question begging for an answer is this: why has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or even the Nigeria Embassy has not contacted us – given that they are our clients.

But the families are complaining that there is no synergy between the Nigerian government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and their lawyer. What is your reaction?

Immediately the agreement was signed, some people suddenly wanted to work for the Embassy and also serve as lawyers to the prisoners and detainees. They thought money was being paid and wanted to cash in. Money became their focus instead of humanity. My primary concern is to see the detainees and prisoners return to Nigeria. I want to know whether it has archived the agreement by publishing it in the gazette of the Federal Government. Has Nigeria filed a formal request in line with the Exchange of Prisoners Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? Who sent the voice message from the Nigerian embassy? It was released the same day the Nigerian Ambassador to Ethiopia presented his Letter of Credence from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to his Ethiopian counterpart in Ethiopia. So, who authorised the voice message? Why is it that the Foreign Affairs Ministry cannot reach us? Do they want to bring them back without my knowledge or TBNI? There is also an angle to the judgment because even if you bring back the prisoners without bringing back the detainees I will still go back to court. Because the implication is that the Federal High Court Abuja judgment has not been obeyed. So, if it is not done I will fly back to Abuja Federal High Court to file for contempt by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian Diaspora Commission for disobedience of court order. Even at the beginning of the case, the lawyers that represented the Senate and House of Representatives filed a counter affidavit in opposition to the return of the prisoners and Justice Ekwo ruled against it. So, for me the lawyers were carrying out the instructions of their client – the National Assembly. Who was the person that spoke in the voice message? Did that person have the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation or the Minister of Foreign Affairs? Who told them that I don’t have authority as Counsel to the prisoners to do whatever my clients tell me within the ambit of the law? So, who is speaking for the Ambassador?

Many are surprised at the zeal with which you are defending these Nigerians who are believed to have committed crimes in Ethiopia. What is your interest in the case?

Which allegations were brought against them? We have our affidavits upon which the judgment was delivered. That many of them were just walking on the streets and were arrested, they had money, were extorted, framed and sent to prison. They were tried in a foreign language and nobody interpreted the language to them and they were convicted. And the Court granted the Order of Mandamus and the Ethiopian government said they don’t have salt, water, firewood and medicare and that they could not take care of them any longer. They said Nigeria should evacuate them. That was what made the Take Back Nigeria Initiative go to court. We highlighted how we visited all government agencies to ensure they were brought back into the country. We visited the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora, Senator Victor Umeh and dropped a letter in 2024. We were ignored. We wrote reports and there were no replies. It was only the Human Rights Commission that discussed and advised us on where to go and what to do before it became clear that it was a Consular matter. Then we went to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Ojukwu is now the Minister of Foreign Affairs and she took it up even when she was Minister of State. All we want is that the prisoners and detainees must be brought back to Nigeria within 30 days. That is the mandate of the Take Back Nigeria Initiative (TBNI). If they want to do without us it doesn’t concern me because it is not a matter of me, but it is a humanitarian affair. So, whatever they think they can do to bring them back to Nigeria let them do, but if I don’t see them in Nigeria within a specified period I will write another letter and seek Order 48, to compel the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Nigeria Diaspora Commission to do the needful. We have been patient enough.

Considering the ongoing xenophobic attack against Nigerians and other foreigners in South Africa, what are the implications for Nigerians still being held in Ethiopia?

  The implication is that whoever made the voice message announcement representing the Ambassador in Ethiopia must be a nonentity. I was made to understand that Amuda is a driver in the Nigerian Embassy in Ethiopia. We are ready to cooperate with the government to provide logistics to bring them back to Nigeria. If somebody is not tried properly under the law in Ethiopia, there will be a problem. In fact, there must be data of the date they were arrested, the court they took them to, the evidence before the court, judgment and sentencing to enable Nigeria act properly, but we can’t act blindly. If there are exhibits it will be indicated in the judgments who tendered those exhibits and evidence.

Don’t you think these things were considered before they were sentenced?

I assume these things were considered during the signing of the Treaty, but for me it is now an administrative matter between Nigeria and Ethiopia. It is a process for Nigeria to have made a formal application for return of prisoners and detainees and for Ethiopia to answer and give them the details I enumerated. It is a matter between the Ministry of Foreign Affair, Ministry of Interior, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Nigerian Embassy in Ethiopia. Why are the relevant MDAs of the Federal Government making me go through the hassles of getting them to do the needful in a very timely manner?

If the supposed judgements are not proper, that may demand that we approach the courts to disqualify and invalidate them. The Senate and the House of Representatives should recognise that these people  are human beings. If any of the prisoners or detainees dies again I will sue the Federal Government of Nigeria. The Ethiopian and Nigerian governments have signed the treaty. How they get back here I don’t care.

What do you think is responsible for the attack against Nigerians in some African countries especially in Africa South?

It is entrepreneurial spirit. Nigerians work very hard be it in schools they attended in Nigeria and with the economic circumstances of Nigeria, the environmental factors and hardship they go through in Nigeria has helped them to become somebody wherever they find themselves. If you compare graduates from Nigeria anywhere in Europe, our graduates perform better because we got educated under very harsh conditions. There is something I understand; some people are bent on discrediting this government through sponsorship of protests and terrorism. Instead of doing something to help the government succeed, you are telling the people that the government has money to do everything. Again some of us are too noisy, too loud while some commit unnecessary crime. When you are in a foreign country you need to be sensible. Three most dangerous things that sparked attacks in South Africa are women, money and power, through money laziness of the indigenes partnered with jealousy.

Don’t you think dialogue is a better option than heading to court to sue the FG, NASS and the Minister of Foreign Affair for disobedience to court order?

How many times have I approached them? I wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigerian Diaspora Commission and I was patient and cooperated with them and immediately the agreement was signed they became tigers. I have sent a private message to the government to ask what is happening, but got no response.  And that is why I’m asking here again, what is happening?  Rather, the organs of government that are involved are saying that our part has been extinguished and that we don’t have anything to do with the matter again because our part is finished and that it is now the responsibility of the Attorney General and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Do I have to go and beg them? After all, I’m into law practice and I have a certificate under the Nigerian Legal Practitioner Act hence I take up instructions from my clients.

What do you actually want from the concerned organs of government?

What I want is for them to bring back Nigerian prisoners and detainees within 30 days.

Now the 10th National Assembly has passed the State Police Bill, what are your thoughts on this?

The creation of State Police is the answer to insecurity in Nigeria and it will be a landmark achievement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the 10th National Assembly if signed into law. It is unfair, unjust and not right for the Federal Government to deploy some people from either the North, southwest or South South to South-East to head the Police Command in any of the five states in the region. This is because they are not familiar with the areas and they cannot function properly compared to when officers from the region are appointed as Commissioners of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers. They will fix insecurity because they are from the areas that make up the region. So, they can easily detect and prevent crime.