are languishing in various prisons
and detention centres in the
United Kingdom (UK) over alleged
immigration offences.
A UK-based immigration lawyer,
Mr. Fola Rahman, disclosed this in
Abeokuta, the Ogun State
capital, at the weekend.
Rahman spoke at a Guest Forum
organised by the state Council of
the Nigeria Union of Journalists
(NUJ), where he also revealed
how the British High Commission
rakes in millions of naira daily
from visa applications by
desperate Nigerians planning to
travel abroad.
A senatorial aspirant for Ogun
Central Senatorial District in the
2011 elections, Rahman explained
that Nigerians in UK jails got into
trouble for contravening the
immigration laws of their host
country.
He decried a situation where
many Nigerians are desperate to
go abroad without seeking
proper advice.
“We have a lot of Nigerians
abroad today that are stranded.
They don ’t have the right
documentations. Many are in
prison and their parents don’t
know they are in trouble. There
are more than 20,000 of such, ”
he said.
Concerned about the plight of
the victims, the lawyer said he
once had discussions with key
Federal Government officials in
London when the late President
Umaru Musa Yar ’Adua was alive.
He said the discussion centred on
the need to carry out a prison
exchange policy with the UK
Government.
His words: “I was invited by the
former Attorney-General of the
Federation, Chief Michael
Aondoakaa. He was with the late
President Umaru Musa Yar ’Adua
and the then Internal Affairs
Minister, Godwin Abbe, when I
met him.
“I was with them with Chief
Jimoh Ibrahim in London and we
were discussing this matter and
the government asked me to
look at it so that we can do
what they call prison exchange.
“This means we can release their
citizens who are in our prisons
here and the UK Government can
also release Nigerians who are in
UK prison. So, I don ’t know how
far they’ve gone about that
policy, but I was involved in it
during Aondoakaa ’s regime.”
While noting that there had been
several changes in obtaining UK
visas, Rahman cautioned Nigerian
youths against the craze for
travelling abroad without
seeking appropriate counselling.
Commenting on the recent
elections in Britain where three
Nigerians won legislative seats,
Rahman described the
development as a beautiful start
for Nigerians and Africans in the
politics and governance of the
UK.
He noted that many Africans had
been encouraged by the
electoral victory of the United
States President Barack Obama
to participate in politics
overseas.
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