*Demands FG Intervention*
The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), the apex socio-cultural youth organization of Ndigbo, has presented a list of 578 Nigerian youths detained in prisons in the Republic of Benin to the Public Petition Committee of the National Assembly in Abuja.
The national president of OYC, Comrade Igboayaka O Igboayaka, and his team submitted the list to the committee, seeking federal government intervention in the matter.
Earlier, on April 30, 2023, the council had revealed that 5,000 Nigerian youths were being held captive in 13 different prisons in the Republic of Benin.
During the second summon at the Public Petition Committee hearing room on May 23, 2024, the House Chairman, Rt. Hon. Mike Etaba, adopted the list of 578 detainees as a working document to aid in the investigation and intervention of the federal government.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had pleaded for more time during the first summon on April 30, 2024, failed to show up on May 23, 2024 sitting.
Comrade Igboayaka urged the committee to accept the list of 578 detainees as a working document, which was granted by the honorable committee.
The Chairman of the Public Petition Committee, Rt. Hon. Mike Etaba, summoned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to appear before the committee on the next sitting to provide a quick feedback on the letter they had written to the Benin Republic to get the actual number of Nigerians in prison.
Comrade Igboayaka narrated the ugly situation faced by Nigerian youths doing legitimate business in the Republic of Benin and urged the committee to speed up action to rescue the innocent youths in excruciating agony in Benin Republic prisons.
The Ohanaeze Youth Council has called on the federal government to intervene urgently in the matter and ensure the release of the detained Nigerian youths.