SECURITY ALERT WITH JIDE

457 Nigerians are serving in Brazilian jails.

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have stressed the need for government to take steps to tackle the problem of drug trafficking by Nigerians in foreign countries following the presence of almost 500 Nigerians in Brazilian jails over drug related offences.
According to members of the House of Representatives Committee on diaspora, there are 457 Nigerians in Brazilian prisons for various offences including drug trafficking.
The lawmakers, highlighted the problem of bad leadership in the country, and stressed the need for the federal government and relevant agencies to provide basic necessities for the citizens across the country.
The chairman of the committee, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who made this known at a news conference, said that the number included 14 women.
The number of Nigerians in Brazilian prisons is more than the number of Nigerians in prisons across Europe”, she stated distastefully.
The lawmaker also decried the growing poverty ttrend in the country which was recently affirmed by the Bureau of statistics that over 100 million Nigerians now live below the poverty line.
She called for urgent economic reforms by the federal government as she noted that more Nigerian were getting poorer while a very few were getting richer.
She noted that the committee would interact with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Federal Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to look at the treaties signed with Brazil.
According to Dabiri-Erewa there is a need for public enlightenment to educate Nigerians on the implications of drug trafficking.
Another member of the committee, Abudulrahman Terab said the plight of Nigerians in Brazilian prisons required the intervention of the Federal Government.
On the need for the enhance the processing of international passports to Nigerians abroad, Betty Apiafi who is also a member of the committee stated that the National Assembly would make adequate budgetary allocation to Nigerian missions to acquire international passports for Nigerian citizens abroad.
She noted that a situation where Nigerians had to come back to the country before they could renew their passports was unacceptable.
“If all Nigerian missions were provided with their own passport machines, the rate at which other countries’ nationals were claiming Nigerian nationality would be reduced drastically” she observed.