Nigerian prisoners in Ghanaian cells have sent a Save Our Soul message to the Federal Government over the deplorable conditions and bad treatment meted out to them by Ghana’s prison officials.
The report by an an online portal paints a very bleak picture.
Inmates claim that the Ghanaian authorities single out Nigerians for humiliation and degrading treatment just because they are Nigerians and trample on Nigerian citizens at every little provocation.
Many of the inmates are jailed for as much as 130 years and they are currently undergoing untold hardship.
Below is a worrying letter written by one of the prisoners narrating all they are going through:
“My name is Emmanuel Emeka, a prisoner in Ankaful maximum security prison, Cape Coast, Ghana. I’m serving a jail-term of 130 years imprisonment and I’m presently in my 8th year.
We appeal to the Nigerian government to please come to our aid. The condition here has been so unbearable for (we) Nigerian prisoners in Ghana. We need to reconnect with our families. The Ghanaian police are fond of arresting innocent Nigerians, giving them high sentence of 50 yrs, 70 yrs, 100 yrs, 150 yrs to 200 yrs.
Most of us have spent 8 yrs, 10 yrs, 15 yrs, 17 yrs and 20 yrs inside prison and some have died inside the prison without completing their jail-term. Our families are in the dark, they really don’t know what we are facing. We’ve spent a lot of money trying to appeal in court, but all is to no avail.
Within my 8 years in prison, I have witnessed over 100 deaths of Nigerian citizens in the Ghana prison and most of their families are not even aware. They still keep the hope of their return without knowing they are dead and buried with no rites.
We appeal to the government of Nigeria to please act on our behalf so we won’t continue to perish in this peril.
There are many Nigerians in all the 46 prisons in Ghana that need help from the Nigerian government. Also the media, kindly keep spreading the message until it finally grips the attention of the able government. To fellow citizens of Nigeria, our brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers, please continue to pray for us and do what you can to return us back home.
Another sad part is that most of us are on sick bed, no drugs for us. This is the unseen hardship Nigerian citizens in all the prisons in Ghana are facing and myself inclusive. I’ve been sick for the past 2 months and they have not taken me to the hospital or give me any drug.
They treat us like animals, they give us dry garri everyday, no access to communication. I know how I suffered to get this phone to send this message to you.
Please, on this message, lies the survival of about 800 to 1000 Nigerian prisoners in the 46 prisons in Ghana who are in this type of high sentence. Help us spread the message to all the four corners of Nigeria to make campaign for our freedom because that is the only hope left for us.”
Please spread this message so that it will get to the right quarters.