LONDON, 10 January 2014 / PRNewswire Africa / - The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Kingdom today signed an agreement providing for the transfer of prisoners between the two States.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Kingdom today signed an agreement providing for the transfer of prisoners between the two States. This Agreement was one of the key objectives of the communiqué issued by President Jonathan and Prime Minister Cameron following their meeting in 2011.
The Agreement will allow Nigerians who commit crimes in the United Kingdom, and Britons who commit crimes in Nigeria, to serve their sentences in their own country, where they can be properly prepared for release into the community in which they will live following their release.
Both the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Kingdom have in place prisoner transfer arrangements with a number of other countries. The signature of this Agreement builds on the already close links between the two countries in the criminal justice field. A special joint committee of officials will oversee the implementation of this Agreement. It is expected that the first prisoners will be transferred under this Agreement before the end of 2014.
Jeremy Wright, the British Justice Minister said:
Removing foreign national offenders is a key priority for the British Government and the prisoner transfer agreement I signed this morning with the Nigerian Attorney-General plays a significant role in supporting this. Both the United Kingdom and Nigeria have prisoner transfer arrangements with other countries and it is right that our two countries, which have such strong ties and shared interests, should develop our own arrangements. I strongly believe that this Agreement will have significant benefits for both our countries.
SOURCE UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office
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