Ohanaeze Ndigbo, a socio-cultural organisation, has claimed that there are over 1.3 million Nigerians in Indian prisons.
Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the organization’s secretary-general, made the claim in a statement welcoming Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, to Nigeria.
Citing “verified intelligence”, Isiguzoro said the figures in India are the highest number of Nigerian prisoners globally.
“Of profound concern is the alarming situation regarding our citizens abroad: over 1.3 million Nigerians currently languish in various prisons across the 28 states of India, the highest concentration of Nigerian prisoners in any country globally,” he said.
“Such a sobering statistic calls for immediate diplomatic engagement.”
Isiguzoro accused Indian authorities of unjustly detaining innocent Nigerians and urged that the topic be brought to the forefront of discussions between Modi and President Bola Tinubu.
“We implore the President to advocate for their release and potential state pardons as a humanitarian gesture that reflects our shared values and commitment to justice,” he said.
Isiguzoro said the call was made to protect the rights of those who are victims of systemic challenges and racism endemic to the immigration experience.
ARE THERE 1.3m NIGERIANS IN INDIAN PRISONS?
To verify the claim, TheCable combed through the National Prisons Information Portal (NPIP), an initiative of the Indian government that computerises and integrates all activities related to prison and prisoner management in all jails across the country.
According to the website, its dashboard is updated every four hours to present accurate information. Data from the portal shows inmate statistics in all prisons.
TheCable sieved through the figures for all states and noted that Nigerians were imprisoned in 25 states out of 28.
As of November 20, the portal shows a total number of 526,569 inmates. Nigerians accounted for 1,933.
Manipur had the highest number of imprisoned Nigerians at 1,009 while states like Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, and Puducherry had the least with one inmate respectively. The total is slightly increased from the 1,100 Nigerians serving various jail terms in 2015, according to Ajjampur Ghanashyam, then-Indian high commissioner in Nigeria.
Isiguzoro’s claim is well over the number of inmates in Indian prisons.
VERDICT
The claim which says 1.3 million Nigerians are serving jail terms in India is incorrect. Data from the Indian government says only 1,933 Nigerians are inmates in the Asian country.
