The United Kingdom has promised to give
Nigerian Prisons £1m (about N210m) to improve its prisons before 534 Nigerian
prisoners in Britain can be sent home to serve the remainder of their jail
sentences under a deal agreed between the two countries.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has made it a
major campaign point in 2010 to reduce the number of foreign prisoners in UK
prisons by deporting them to finish their sentence in their hom countries.
There are 534 Nigerians in UK prisons and
more than half of them, according to UK media reports, could be deported under
the new prisoner transfer agreement under discussion.
A major stumbling block to this deportation
has been the poor condition of prisons in the prisoners’ home countries, but
the UK has promised £1million to Nigeria to help improve its prisons.
UK Prisons Minister Jeremy Wright said, “I am
clear that more foreign prisoners must serve their sentences in their own
countries. That is why we are currently working with the Nigerian Government on
a compulsory prisoner transfer agreement to increase the number of prisoners
who are transferred.
“Legislation allowing Nigeria to enter such an
arrangement was passed earlier this year by the Nigerian Parliament. We are now
working with them on the text of a final agreement.”
There are currently 10,786 foreign prisoners
in British jails, down just three per cent from the 11,135 incarcerated when
David Cameron came to power more than three years ago.
In April, Cameron said, “When people are sent
to prison in the UK we should do everything we can to make sure that if they’re
foreign nationals, they are sent back to their country to serve their sentence
in a foreign prison.
“And I’m taking action in Government to say
look we have strong relationships with all of the countries where these people
come from. Many are coming from Jamaica, many from Nigeria, many from other
countries in Asia.
“We should be using all of the influence we
have to sign prisoner transfer agreements with those countries. Even if
necessary frankly helping them to build prisons in their own country so we can
send the prisoners home.”
In the UK, it costs an estimated £119,000
(about N28m) to cater for a new prisoner and an annual average cost of £41,000
(about N10m) for each prisoner. Thus the deportation of prisoners rids the UK
of criminals and is a cost-saving measure in the face of financial constraints.
Polish nationals make up the highest foreign
contingent in jails in England and Wales, with 829 currently behind bars. Irish
criminals are second with 769, and Jamaica is third with 759. Romanians,
Nigerians, Pakistanis, Indians, Lithuanians, Somalians and Vietnamese make up
the rest of the top ten.
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