There has been a diverse opinion
by Nigerians on the proposed Prisoner Transfer Agreement between Nigeria and
the United Kingdom, several questions has been left unanswered especially people wanting to know if the
former governor James Ibori, his wife Theresa and his mistress Udoamaka will
also be transferred to Nigeria to continue their respective sentences.
James Ibori is one out of over
five hundred and twenty Nigerian prisoners in the United Kingdom jail so i
wonder why no one seems to be talking about others, one thing i want us all to
have in mind is that if the agreement is finalized, the prisoner is not in any
position to determine if he want to continue his jail term in the country where
he/she was sentenced or his home country.
Nigerians are worried because of
our system which is corrupt, the fear of James Ibori being released in Nigeria,
the poor state of our prison system amongst others, Nigeria or any country
whose prisoner(s) is transferred is not conferred with the right to release any
prisoner before the expiration of his/her jail term.
The international transfer of
prisoners between countries is not unknown, since 1985 the 7th
United Nations Congress on Prevention of Crimes and Treatment of Offenders
adopted the model agreement on the transfer of the foreign prisoners and
recommendation on the treatment of foreign prisoners. Nigeria is a member, in
fact all the countries on the surface of the earth is a member.
The international treaty is a
specialized area of law that forms part of the growing international
cooperation between states in criminal matters
Transfer of prisoners to their
home country is of great importance especially on the part of the prisoner; one
of the major aims of the international transfer of sentenced person is to
contribute to dealing with them fairly and effectively. it is to rehabilitate, re-socialize and integrate prisoners into the community and how best can these
be achieved if not by serving their terms of imprisonment in their country.
All instruments that regulate
international prison transfers specify social rehabilitation as one major
ground for this agreement by virtue of council of Europe, European Treaties
Series NO.167.
Transfer of prisoner is more
humane to them to serve their sentences in their home countries, difference in language,
culture and religion. Distance from family and friends may increase difficult
of imprisonment and aggravate the impact of the sentence imposed in many
instances, transferring prisoners to a familiar country can greatly ease those
difficulties.
It is also of advantage to a
prisoner where the prison conditions and regimes in the sentencing state are
poorly or not in line with international standard. Research also suggests that
prisoners’ families face an array of challenges as a consequence of their
family members’ imprisonment that includes social stigma, loneliness, anxiety
and emotional hardship. Prisoners’ children may experience psychological harm
and develop behavioral problems.
Benefits of this transfer on the
sentencing state are that it can remove foreign national prisoners at the
expense of the administering state rather than by deportation and can free up
the resources that can be devoted to his own prisoner and their rehabilitative
needs.
Thank you.
Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons)BL
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