Journalist and former senator Babafemi Ojudu has criticised the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, after a viral video showed her dancing with Nigerian inmates during a recent visit to a prison in Ethiopia.
Mr Ojudu, who represented Ekiti Central Senatorial District between 2011 and 2015 and later served as Special Adviser on Political Matters to former President Muhammadu Buhari, said the minister’s conduct projected the wrong message about crime, punishment, and public leadership.
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In a statement posted on his social media platforms, Mr Ojudu questioned the appropriateness of the scene captured during the minister’s visit to Nigerian prisoners in Ethiopia.
“I watched it several times, hoping there was some context I had missed,” he wrote.
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“If the objective was to negotiate the transfer of Nigerian prisoners back home, could that not have been done with dignity, sobriety, and a clear sense of the gravity of the situation?”
The former senator argued that prisons are institutions of punishment, reflection, and rehabilitation, not places of celebration.
“Public officials must be careful not to blur those distinctions.”
Mr Ojudu further questioned the message that such images send to law-abiding citizens and young Nigerians.
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“What does it say to those who have obeyed the law, endured hardship, and resisted the temptation to seek prosperity through crime?” he asked.
“And what does it say to the international community about our national values?”
He acknowledged that governments have a responsibility to protect citizens abroad and ensure they are treated humanely. Still, he said, there is a distinction between defending citizens’ rights and appearing to glorify wrongdoing.
Mr Ojudu concluded that the incident raised broader concerns about standards in public office and national representation.
“It is a troubling image. And it should trouble both the rulers and the ruled,” he said.
Minister’s visit
The criticism follows Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s visit to the Aba Samuel Prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she met Nigerian inmates shortly after Nigeria and Ethiopia signed a prisoner transfer agreement.
During the visit, the minister assured the inmates that the Nigerian government remained committed to their welfare.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the agreement will allow convicted Nigerians serving sentences in Ethiopia and Ethiopians imprisoned in Nigeria to complete their jail terms in their respective home countries.
The minister said the agreement was based on the principles of humanity, justice, and cooperation between both countries.
She also urged Nigerians living abroad to obey the laws of their host countries while assuring them that the government would continue to protect citizens facing legal challenges overseas.
PREMIUM TIMES reported on Wednesday that Nigeria and Ethiopia signed an agreement allowing the transfer of more than 100 Nigerian prisoners currently serving sentences in Ethiopian correctional facilities.
The agreement was signed during a visit to Addis Ababa by Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.
The visit followed President Tinubu’s directive to repatriate Nigerian nationals serving prison terms in Ethiopia.
At the signing ceremony, Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the agreement was necessary because prolonged diplomatic and legal processes had delayed the transfer of inmates.
“Four Nigerian prisoners have died within the time frame it has taken for the negotiations, judicial vetting, and this final ratification process,” the minister said.
“We are determined to bring home the living.”
READ ALSO: FG secures agreement for transfer of Nigerian prisoners in Ethiopia
The welfare of Nigerians imprisoned in Ethiopia has been a longstanding concern. Reports over the years have highlighted overcrowding, poor medical care, inadequate feeding and limited access to legal support in some facilities.
In 2023, the Nigerian Senate ordered an investigation into the incarceration of hundreds of Nigerians in Ethiopian prisons following public concerns about their conditions and access to justice.
The latest debate generated by the minister’s prison visit has since shifted attention from the prisoner transfer agreement itself to questions about symbolism, public conduct and how government officials engage with incarcerated citizens abroad.
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