There are at least 467 Nigerian prisoners in the United Kingdom, the British Ministry of Justice has said.
A spokeswoman for the ministry, Emily Poyser, told SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday.
According to her, out of the 467 Nigerians who are held in prisons in England and Wales, 439 are men and 28 are women.
She also disclosed that one prisoner had been exchanged between Nigeria and Britain under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement.
“This is a transfer arrangement and not a prisoner-swap agreement. The first prisoner was transferred from the UK to Nigeria under this agreement on 8th January 2015,” Poyser told our correspondent.
The United Kingdom and Nigeria signed a prisoner transfer agreement on January 9, 2014.
When asked if the convicted former governor of Delta State James Ibori could benefit from the agreement, the UK prisons spokeswoman said, “One prisoner has been transferred under the Prisoner transfer Agreement. We do not comment on individual prisoners.”
She also would not confirm whether President Goodluck Jonathan’s brief visit to the UK on December 28 included a stopover at the prison in which Ibori is being kept.
“Unfortunately we cannot help you with this request as we do not comment on individual prisoners, or their cases. We wouldn’t confirm any visits,” Poyser said.
Sunday Punch
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