Importing criminals from abroad would come to naught without the overhauling of the country’s criminal justice system.

Anytime from now, Nigeria will receive about 400 offenders currently serving terms in the United Kingdom (UK) prisons. These convicts, including those who may have spent the better part of their life abroad are ‘coming home’ to continue their jail terms following a controversial agreement signed with the UK authorities. But in case the federal government is not aware, this latest effort falls squarely in line with the new anti-migration stance of the Boris Johnson administration. That much has been confirmed by the British Home Secretary, Witham Priti Patel, who said during the week that the new agreement with Nigeria would deter ‘illegal migration’.

Whatever may be the justification, there is something inherently wrong about this agreement in basic international relations and law. Those who are imprisoned in a specific country for running afoul of their laws are supposed to be under the legal custody of their authorities. Legally convicted criminals are not war prisoners and cannot therefore be the subjects of prisoner swap arrangement under whatever guise. In any event, the purported agreement is ab initio unfair and lopsided. There are hardly any British criminal convicts in Nigerian prisons. Besides, majority of the prisoners being targeted under the agreement are persons with immigration crimes- visa overstays, illegal entries, etc.

It is unfortunate that the federal government cannot see the implications of this policy although it actually started in 2010 with an executive bill seeking to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders (Enactment and Enforcement) Act Cap T16 2004. The then Senate President, David Mark had a meeting with the then United Kingdom’s Minister of Immigration, Damian Green to discuss how Nigeria and Britain would harmonise their laws to facilitate the transfer of convicted offenders between the two countries. We condemned the idea at the time, but it is evident that it was never dropped.

All factors considered, bringing Nigerian convicts from abroad can only aggravate the worsening conditions of our already over-populated prisons. It is even more condemnable that this idea is more at the behest of the British authorities that have been looking for ways to repatriate to Nigeria our nationals serving in their prisons, including those who are legal residents. The greater concern therefore is that many Nigerian residents in the UK who could now be easily criminalised on grounds of immigration status and repatriated to the country without due process. There are other challenges that were not considered before entering into this agreement.

Aside the fact that they are now vulnerable to attacks by criminals, prisons in our country also lack the minimum facilities suitable for human habitation. Despite the high-level rhetoric on prison reforms by successive governments, no concrete actions have been taken to massively decongest our prisons and ameliorate the inhuman condition under which many prisoners live and even work. The main obstacle to the reforms is their gross over-population. According to the Amnesty International report, 65% of the people in our so-called correctional facilities have never been convicted of any crime. Therefore, efforts at importing some criminals from abroad would come to naught without adequate judicial reform aimed at a complete overhauling of the country’s criminal justice system.

Whereas the prison systems in most countries are meant to reform convicted offenders, they come back hardened in Nigeria. We therefore believe that without a comprehensive reform, it will be tantamount to double jeopardy to bring back convicted Nigerian prisoners abroad to come and complete their jail terms at home. It is worse that the UK authorities are using the policy as an immigration tool. We urge the federal government to reconsider this policy, assuming it is not already too late for that.

Update news