Senate Orders Probe Into Incarceration And Killings Of 250 Nigerians In Ethiopian Jails

The Senate directed its Committees on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs to investigate the reason behind the incarceration and killings of 250 Nigerians in Ethiopian prisons.

Minority Leader, Senator Simon Mwadkwon, who presented a motion titled "Urgent need to investigate the unlawful killings and incarceration of over 250 Nigerians in Ethiopia" on Wednesday said that the Committees on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs is working with the federal government in order to visit Ethiopia to investigate what is happening with Nigerians there.

He mentioned the video clip, being surfaced on social media, and said that it "indicates that Nigerians are held captives in the maximum prison of Ethiopia and are in serious peril which calls for urgent intervention and thorough probe into the heinous activities," Punch reported.

The clip was shared on X, formerly Twitter, by several Nigerians:

Mwadkwon went on to acknowledge that the video, circulated by one Dr. Paul Ezike, is urging the Nigerian government to look into the matter as Nigerians are being tortured in Ethiopia without evidence from the commission of any crime.

He further said that based on the information shared in the video, there are more than "250 Nigerians who have continued to face this maltreatment and inhumanity have not committed any crime known to any law and there is no evidence of any court proceedings, stating the categories of crimes they have committed or any court conviction in that regard."

The minority leader noted that based on Nigeria's sovereignty and "the sanctity of lives and properties of all Nigerians all over the world as captured in the Nigerian constitution, especially section 33, 34 and 35 of the 1999 constitution as amended which have similar provisions in order international courts, instruments and convention which the Nigerian and the Ethiopian are signatories to."

Furthermore, he pointed out that there is no justification for "taking away the dignity of any person, let alone taking away the life of a citizen," adding that this is taking place when Nigeria is going through economic and social hardships.

Mwadkwon further shared that something like this happening in the 21st century is "pathetic," especially to citizens of Nigeria, which is a giant of the African continent.

He called the entire incident "quite lugubriously" as "Ethiopia has chosen shallow path to maltreat and mistreat the citizens of Nigeria without any justification as shown in a video by Dr. Paul Ezike."