20,000 Nigerians languish in UK prisons, says immigration lawyer

A United Kingdom-based immigration lawyer, Mr. Fola Rahman, has said no fewer than 20,000 Nigerians are currently languishing in various prisons and detention centres across the European country for immigration offences.

Rahman, who spoke as the  guest speaker during the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) ‘Guest Forum’ organized in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital last Saturday  also disclosed that many of those in prisons include  pregnant women as well as the aged and youths.

The senatorial aspirant for Ogun Central Senatorial District seat in the
2011 elections also revealed how the British High Commission rakes in millions of naira daily from visa applications from Nigerians, who are desperate to leave the country.

He lamented a situation where many Nigerians were desperate to go abroad without seeking proper advice, the immigration lawyer said ignorance of the immigration laws in the UK accounted for the alarming rate of fellow Nigerians now in prison.

His words: “We have a lot of Nigerians abroad today that are stranded. They don’t have right documentations. Many are in prison now and their parents don’t know they are in prison. We have more than 20,000 and if you look at it that way, it’s serious,” he stated.

The immigration lawyer noted that there had been several changes in obtaining UK visas. “In 2007, the British government decided that if anybody is living in the UK without having correct documents, it is illegal. Before then, it was not illegal. You have to seek proper advice before going abroad. We need to enlighten our people: it is not to make it at all cost but to dignify yourself in things that you do,” he added.

On what he intends to do for Nigerians, particularly those from his state of origin, Rahman disclosed that his non-governmental organization, Fola Rahman Foundation, intends to open an office in Abeokuta where Nigerian youths willing to travel abroad could get proper counselling free of charge. The legal practitioner also disclosed that he sometimes had discussions with key Federal Government officials in London when the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua visited London on the plight of Nigerians languishing in jails.

“I was actually invited by the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa; I was there with the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the then Internal Affairs Minister, Godwin Abbe. I was with them with Chief Jimoh Ibrahim in London. We discussed 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 prisons in the UK. So, I don’t know how far they’ve gone about that policy but I was involved in it during Aondoakaa’s regime.”

Rahman said his determination to inject new lease of life and quality representation for Ogun Central zone informed his desire to contest the forthcoming senatorial election. 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 United Kingdom.

He noted that many Africans had been encouraged by the electoral victory of United States President Barack Obama to participate in politics overseas. “It is a beautiful start for us. I believe the drive came in when Obama won the US presidential election. Before, we (blacks) don’t want to get involved in elections. But when those that are there don’t make the right policies, it affects all of us. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all of us to get actively involved in politics. I can see a day when a Nigerian born in the United Kingdom will one day become the prime minister,” he enthused.