Majority of foreign prisoners in Ghana are Nigerians &amp; its a national disgrace- Nigeria ambassador to Ghana

Nigeria's High Commissioner to Ghana,
Ambassador Ademola Oluseyi Onafowokan has
raised an alarm over the increasing number of
Nigerians serving jail terms in Ghana, describing
the increasing number of Nigerians in foreign
prison all over the world as a National disgrace.

"Firstly, I agree with you that majority of
them are Nigerians, but should majority of
them be Nigerians? We shouldn’t even be
saying such things with pride because it is
a national disgrace. Every country we go,
they are filled with Nigerians, why? It is
unfortunate. But I believe if you are ready
to take the risk, then you must be ready to
dance to the music.Now to the question of
helping with infrastructure and other things;
Nigeria High Commission doesn’t have the
kind of money to build prisons. We are just
here to do our core duties such as issuing
passports, visa, supporting Nigerians in
distress and to keep promoting the
diplomatic relationship between the two
brotherly nations" Ambassador Onafowokan
told Tribune

Ambassador Onafowokan says his personal
efforts has helped in saving a Nigerian who was
once put on death roll and that no Nigerian has
died in any of the Ghanian prisons since he
assumed office

"As regard the issue of the report, I want to
believe it was written by one of the
prisoners and smuggled to someone to
publish for them, because the report is not
the reality on ground. First of all, I will like
to assure you that no Nigerian has died in
the prison. Secondly, I want to assure you
that I visited them; spoke to them and I
always sympathise with them. But the truth
is, when you do illegal things in a foreign
land, you should know you will be jailed in
that foreign land, so why commit such a
crime? Moreover, if they succeeded in
making money from such illicit transaction,
they use the money to harass everyone on
the streets; illicit money source of which
you will never know. I have visited them
and I make sure people visit them regularly.
I usually send my officials to take toiletries
and other provisions to them. If you check
on them, they are almost more than the
Ghanaians in Nsawam prison in terms of
population. They wouldn’t stop doing drugs
and getting involved in armed robbery
cases. I remember a Nigerian was
sentenced to death, I personally spoke to
the Chief Justice and I wrote a letter to
plead for his life, and he has not been
executed, and I don’t think he’ll be
executed. About the long sentences they
are giving them, which I was told by the
Chief Justice of Ghana Mrs Theodore
Woods, they assured me that they will look
into it, but they told me those sentences
are to discourage other Nigerians from
thinking Ghana is a safe haven for
criminals. It is logical to make a U-turn if
you know that you are likely to get a prison
sentence of 50-130 years if caught
committing crime as a Nigerian or a
foreigner. But that has not deter them, as
Nigerians fill up the Ghana prisons on a
daily basis, and after being caught, they
want us (Nigeria High Commission) to
come and get them out. Also, any Nigerian
prisoner released comeS to the Nigeria High
Commission (NHC), we usually give them
GHC100 ($40) which will take them to
Lagos. Since I resumed as the High
Commissioner, I have been doing that
religiously. Sometimes when they come, I
will ask them to be brought in front of me,
and I ask them what led them into it, and
afterwards, I counsel them. The question
remains that when you know there is a
reward for your crime if caught, why do it?
On the question of prisoners exchange, I
have spoken with the parliamentary
Committee on Foreign Affairs and I
mentioned the issue; I was made to
understand that Nigerian prisons are too
full, and that the prisoner exchange
document has not been concluded yet. If
you check countries around the world, you
will find Nigerian prisoners there, and it
baffles me. I think we need a national
orientation because this is becoming a huge
embarrassment to the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, and this is as a result of the fact
that they want to get rich quick. It’s not a
crime to be rich, but it must be earned. The
High Commission is doing its best to
ensure that Nigerian prisoners have a
humanity touch. The High Commission
doesn’t have power to get them released;
all we can do is to keep pleading"he said.
Ambassador Onafowokan stated that it was
wrong for the Ghanian authorities to hand
long jail term to foreigners as an instrument
of deterrent but that as an Ambassador, he
has no power to change the judicial system
of a country. He argues that to serve long
jail term is better than beheading which is
the law in some other countries for drug
traffickers. "I agree that policy is not right.
Like I told you, I sat down with Chief
Justice Theodore Woods, and he promised
to work on it. I don’t think I can force
authorities in Ghana to change its justice
system. So also, Ghana High Commission
in Nigeria cannot force Nigerian government
to change our justice system. In some
countries, the law prescribed that you will
be beheaded if you commit certain crime,
and there’s little or nothing diplomacy can
do to make them change their mind. I think
to go to prison for a long time is better
than being beheaded. But the best solution
is to walk away from criminality" he said.