1,000 Nigerians In Thailand jails – Envoy

Over 1,000 Nigerians are languishing in Thai jails, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Nuhu Bamali, has said.Bamali said this while speaking at the Africa Gems and Jewellery Exhibition and Seminar in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said, “Over 1,000 Nigerians are currently in jail in Thailand. We need to encourage young Nigerians leaving the country to do so through proper channels.”

Although Bamali did not give reasons for the jail terms being served by Nigerians in the Asian country, a former Ambassador of Nigeria to Thailand, Mr. Chudi Okafor, had in 2013 told Punch that one out of five Nigerians living in Thailand was serving a jail term for drug-related offences.

The envoy also disclosed that the mission had been able to secure an agreement that allows Nigerians serving jail terms to be released at a point so that they could go and complete their terms in the country.