A desperate cry for help has reached Nigeria’s highest legislative chambers as prominent activist lawyer Deji Adeyanju sounds the alarm about more than 200 Nigerian citizens allegedly suffering in hellish conditions inside Benin Republic’s overcrowded prisons.
In a powerful letter sent Monday to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Adeyanju painted a disturbing picture of fellow Nigerians trapped in what he describes as a human rights nightmare just across the border.
These aren’t hardened criminals serving time – many are being held without even knowing what crimes they’re accused of committing.
“This is a gross violation of the fundamental rights of these Nigerians,” Adeyanju wrote, his frustration evident as he detailed how prisoners are languishing without formal charges, legal representation, or even the basic promise of a fair trial.
The activist’s letter reads like a plea from the forgotten, speaking for those who have no voice in foreign detention centers.
The conditions Adeyanju describes are nothing short of medieval.
Prisoners packed into cells like sardines, denied medical treatment when they fall ill, and cut off from legal help that could secure their freedom.
The overcrowding has already turned deadly – Salami Deyomi from Lagos State reportedly died simply because there wasn’t enough space to breathe or adequate medical care to keep him alive.
To drive his point home, Adeyanju shared disturbing video footage online that shows prison cells so congested that inmates can barely move.
What makes this crisis even more heartbreaking is the silence surrounding it.
While these 200-plus Nigerians waste away in foreign prisons, their families back home may not even know where they are or if they’re still alive.
Some have been detained for months or even years without their cases moving forward, trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare that has no end in sight.
He’s calling on Nigerian authorities to use whatever diplomatic muscle they have to secure the release of people who are suffering simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The activist emphasizes that the continued detention violates international human rights standards, but beyond the legal jargon lies a simple truth: these are human beings whose lives are being destroyed day by day in conditions that no one should have to endure.
