How Nigerian Authorities Facilitated Release Of Nigerian Jailed In Benin Republic

When the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration unveiled its foreign policy thrust anchored on 4Ds (Democracy, Development, Demography and Diaspora), Nigerians were eager to see how these will be deployed to protect the lives of the Nigerian citizens both home and abroad.

These foreign policy objectives of the government are tied to the much touted ‘citizen diplomacy’, which focuses on the welfare, protection, and engagement of Nigerian citizens at home and in the diaspora, viewing them as both “the goal (essence) and instrument (agents) of foreign policy.”

This policy was initiated to address numerous challenges being faced by Nigerians in different parts of the  world, many of whom have suffered deaths, arrests, intimidation and harassment, incarceration, and all forms of dehumanizing treatments  which in many cases have been very unfair.

The aim is to improve the treatment of Nigerians abroad, encourage diaspora investment, and positively shape Nigeria’s image through official support and unofficial citizen actions as ambassador.

It was on this premise that Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu made an enormous effort to secure the release of a Nigerian national, Pastor Benjamin Egbaji, who was incarcerated in the Republic of Benin.

Egbaji, a businessman and cleric from Cross River State was accused of sundry offences and detained in a hospital in Cotonou, the country’s capital under dehumanising conditions for over two years while his health deteriorated. He was later sent to prison over allegations that were largely not proven.

Recall that the minister had in 2025 visited the cleric while in detention and assured him of the relentless efforts of the federal government to ensure that he gets justice as quickly as possible. Those efforts have yielded results as the Government has exploited its cordial relations with Benin Republic to secure his release as the President Patrice Talon on Thursday January 8, 2026 granted Egbaji Presidential Pardon.

The embattled pastor, who is said to be in high spirit shortly after he regained freedom, had expressed appreciation to the Minister and the Nigerian Government for their intervention in his situation.

The minister, through a statement from her media aide, Dr. Magnus Eze, noted that the gazetted presidential amnesty dated December 17, 2025, was on the heels of consistent diplomatic pressure from her office including a visit to the detained citizen in a Cotonou hospital August last year.

“A viral photograph of the sick -looking Nigerian citizen chained to a hospital bed in the Republic of Benin had attracted umbrage from many Nigerians. This prompted immediate diplomatic moves to secure his release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the statement said.

The Minister had followed a consistent pattern of diplomatic engagements with the government of Benin Republic including request from the Ministry  for Egbaji’s release so that he could have better medical care and also serve out his sentence in Nigeria.

As part of the efforts to release the Nigerian, the Ministry had requested the transfer of the Nigerian national to receive the deserved medical care and serve out his custodial term in Nigeria after Odumegwu-Ojukwu visited Egbaji in the Cotonou hospital alongside the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari.

The Nigerian government had expressed concerns  over the pace of the Beninnoise authorities in addressing the situation and acceding to its request, not minding the longstanding cordial relations between the two countries, founded on shared cultural heritage, bonds of trust, mutual respect, and a spirit of brotherhood.

In a recent letter to the Foreign Affairs Minister of Republic of Benin, Odumegwu-Ojukwu had said: “It is against this backdrop of solidarity and mutual goodwill that I seek Your Excellency’s kind consideration regarding the plight of a Nigerian national, Pastor Benjamin Egbaji, who has been serving a custodial sentence in Cotonou since October 2023 for a jail term of ten (10) years. As Your Excellency may be aware, Pastor Egbaji has been in Benin Republic for over three decades, contributing meaningfully as an entrepreneur, pastor, and community leader.

“Regrettably, his health has deteriorated severely while in detention. Two independent medical experts appointed by the court recently recommended that he be transferred abroad for urgent medical care, as local interventions have proved ineffective.

“In the spirit of our longstanding friendship and in recognition of the humanitarian imperative, not being unmindful of the grievous nature of the offence he is charged with, we kindly request that Pastor Egbaji be repatriated to Nigeria to serve out the remainder of his sentence in a Nigerian Correctional Centre.”

However, with the release of the beleaguered Nigerian, Ambassador Odumegwu- Ojukwu has displayed uncommon commitment to the wellbeing of Nigerians in diaspora as well as deepened in practical terms the enduring spirit of fraternity and cooperation that bind Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.

Although this effort from the Minister is commendable, it is also within the purview of the minister to look into other cases where Nigerians have been unfairly treated in different parts of the world just as she did when Nigerians were harassed in Ghana.

Moreover, the federal government must also devise ways to apply sanctions against countries, individuals and institutions that treat Nigerians unfairly outside the country.