Published on 6/15/2026
Nigeria and Ethiopia recently signed in Addis Ababa a convict transfer agreement, allowing citizens of the two countries who are serving prison sentences in the other country to move to their country to complete the remainder of their sentences. A press statement issued by the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the agreement was signed on the Nigerian side by Justice Minister Latif Fagbemi, and on the Ethiopian side by Justice Minister Hanna Araya Selassie. The statement explained that the two countries agreed to immediately begin implementing the bilateral agreement in accordance with the laws of the two countries and their international obligations.
According to the statement, more than 100 Nigerian citizens, including 4 women, who are serving sentences in Ethiopian prisons, are expected to benefit from the agreement. The statement added that 4 Nigerian prisoners died during the period of negotiations, judicial verification and ratification processes that preceded the signing of the agreement.
The signing ceremony was supervised by Nigerian Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu and her Ethiopian counterpart, Gideon Timotheus. Odumigwu-Ojukwu described the agreement as “a major diplomatic achievement based on humanity, justice and international cooperation,” and said that the new legal framework allows the transfer of convicts from the two countries to their countries to complete their sentences, provided that the agreed upon conditions and applicable laws are met. She added: “We cannot lose any more precious lives. We are determined to bring back those who remain alive.”
Odumigwu-Ojukwu is scheduled to visit Kalite and Aba Samuel prisons in Ethiopia, as part of efforts to facilitate the implementation of the agreement.
Most Nigerians detained in Ethiopia are serving their sentences in Kaliti prison in Addis Ababa, where rights groups say, since 2019, that detainees are subjected to overcrowding, starvation, lack of medical care, and corporal punishment, according to the Nigerian newspaper The Punch.
Detainee rights groups say that a large number of Nigerians detained in Kaliti prison are passengers traveling through Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, one of Africa’s busiest airports, and have been arrested on drug-related charges, and these groups claim that some of them were carrying narcotic substances without their knowledge.
As for Nigeria, an independent investigation that lasted 18 months – the results of which were presented by the Ministry of the Interior during a regional symposium of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja in late March 2026 – revealed that Nigerian detention facilities “have turned into a kind of human warehouse,” noting cases in which the population density exceeded 500% of the capacity, and that more than 70% of the inmates are detained on trial. She added that inmates often pay for a bed, a family visit, or transportation to court, according to the Nigerian newspaper Premium Times.
