•Abandoned for years in Kirikiri, Nigerians repatriated from Thailand prisons want to go home
By Tessy Igomu
They were repatriated from Thailand between 2007 and 2012 but, years after, they are still being detained in the Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos, contrary to the treaty between Nigeria and Thailand.
Weeks after Daily Sun brought their plight to the public domain recently, the Nigeria Prison Service (NPS) has still not addressed their cases.
The prisoners are George Chibuike Onyema, Napoleon Marvellous Mba, Wasiu Amusan, Obi Titus Ibezim, Derrick Addai, Julius Azubike, Clement Omagbai, Henry Azukaeme, Ifeanyi Okafor, Okpala Kingsley Chukwubike, Kennedy Tanya, Yahuza Yakubu Mohammed and Gloria Ogbonna. They say the prison authorities are deliberately ignoring their demand, despite promising to investigate their cases and do justice.
Azukaeme, one of the inmates, said it was unfortunate that Nigeria has refused to implement the treaty, which clearly stated their entitlement to any reduction of sentences or amnesty granted by the Thai authorities.
And to press home their demand, the inmates have threatened to embark on an indefinite hunger strike until they regain their freedom.
The prisoners, in a letter to the reporter, said they were devastated that someone arrested in Thailand in 2007, a year after their incarceration, had been released after serving his term in that country. The fellow had even visited them in Kirikiri, the prisoners said.
They also claimed that, during their families’ latest correspondence with the Thailand Corrections Department, it was confirmed that they were due for release in mid-2016.
In a letter addressed to the Controller-General of the NPS, the deportees said the Nigerian embassy in Thailand informed their families that the mission received documents from Thailand Corrections Department detailing to the NPS sentence reductions granted by the Thai government in 2012, 2015 and 2016.
“The embassy went further to state that all the documents were duly forwarded to the Nigeria Prison Service through the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The documents also include royal pardons granted the only female inmate among us in 2016. According to the MoU of the treaty under which we were brought back, the procedure for enforcement of sentence after transfer should be governed by laws and procedures of the transferring state. The treaty also states that the receiving state, Nigeria, shall be bound by the legal nature and duration of the sentence as determined by transferring state, Thailand.
“The Nigerian Embassy also told our families that the official bureaucratic procedure is for our custodians, Nigeria Prison Service, to request from Thailand Corrections Department periodic updates concerning our sentences, reduction in terms, amnesties or pardon granted by the government of Thailand. From all indications, we were to have regained our freedom because we are serving sentences imposed by Thailand authorities. We are tired of pleading, complaining and writing petitions.”
The Daily Sun report was published on Tuesday, July 4, 2017. The headline was, Double Trouble for Nigerian Prisoners: “After serving jail terms in Thailand, govt has forgotten us in Kirikiri.”
According to the report, having been caught on the wrong side of the law of Thailand and after serving part of their sentences, the prisoners agreed to be repatriated to Nigeria under a treaty to serve out their terms in Nigeria. But, with time, their hope of embracing freedom appeared to fade.
The 13 inmates, who were jailed by Thai authorities on narcotics-related offences, had served a minimum of six years before their repatriation between 2007 and 2012.
The inmates said previous batches brought in before were freed between 12 and 18 months of arriving in Nigeria, adding that they have suffered losses and derailed career plans due to their continued incarceration. They also accused the NPS of unfair treatment, adding that they have suffered morally, materially, emotionally and psychologically, amid losing loved ones.
The prisoners maintained they were made to understand that they would only be detained for about 12 months for rehabilitation purposes, as was done with previous batches of returnee prisoners. They explained that their families raised the $1,200 to cover the cost of each prisoner’s flight ticket and other expenses back to Nigeria. The payments were made to the Nigerian embassy in Thailand and receipts issued for validation.
They said the treaty between the government of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Thailand on the transfer of offenders and cooperation in the enforcement of penal sentences became effective on January 11, 2002, and was signed by Mr. Ademola Adenrele, Nigerian Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Thailand and Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Surakiart Sathiarathai.
In the intervening years after their repatriation, Thailand had granted several remissions and sentence reductions in 2012, 2015 and in 2016. In their words, many of their case-mates and fellow Nigerian prisoners who declined to return home have been released.
They also noted that, since the treaty was signed, about 493 prisoners deported to Nigeria in six batches between March 2003 and October 2012 have all been granted amnesty.
The inmates lamented that, after writing several letters to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate President, the Minister of Interior, Attorney-General of the Federation, the NPS, Director of Protection and Investigation, National Human Rights Commission and other agencies and individuals, nothing has been done to address their plight.
In June 2014, the inmates said they saw what appeared to be a glimmer of hope when the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy came and interviewed them. However, the recommendation made for their release was never acted upon.
The inmates claimed to have conducted themselves responsibly and respectfully in prison, and this prompted the NPS to officially write letters for clemency to the Attorney-General of the Federation, copying the Minister of Special Duties through letters referenced: i. NPS-Zone A/CONT.5/Vol. iv/287 and ii. NPS–Zone A/CONT.5/Vol. iv/288.
Reacting to the allegations in July, the NPS, through its national public relations officer, Francis Enabora, said no inmate would be kept in any Nigerian Prison when such an inmate should be set free. He promised to obtain more details from the officer in charge of Kirikiri Prisons, in order to have a better knowledge of the matter as well as ensure liaison between the NPS and the Embassy of Thailand.