From Magnus Eze, Abuja
WORRIED by the plight of many Nigerians languishing in China prisons, a civil society group, Patriotic Citizens Initiative (PCI), has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to take advantage of the cordial diplomatic relationship with the Asian country to broker prisoners’ transfer agreement with it.
Executive Director of the PCI, Comrade Osita Osemene, in an interview with Daily Sun decried the inhuman conditions Nigerians in prisons abroad especially, in China were being subjected to. He said most of them are made to live like animals as they remain source of cheap labour in the foreign land.
He urged President Buhari to emulate former President Olusegun Obasanjo who entered into prison transfer pact with Thailand during his tenure. He commended government for its swift reaction to xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
“We are still appealing; we have a relationship with Chinese government, what is the gain keeping other citizens in their prisons? There are countries whose laws are tight, but during Obasanjo’s regime we did it with Thailand, there is a prison exchange with Thailand so why is Chinese different?
“If your people are saying they are dying, they are killing us, the way they are treating us is bad, and they are demanding for it, look into it, if you have a strong structure as issues of foreign affairs they should look into it. There is a process of prison exchange, they should sign a treaty and bring these people back, if they are going to serve, some of them have ten to fifteen years to complete their prison terms. It they said, they want to come and are prepared to serve here, better”, Osemene stated.