Ojudu Criticizes Tinubu’s Minister for Dancing with Nigerian Prisoners in Ethiopia

Former presidential aide Babafemi Ojudu has publicly rebuked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu‑Ojukwu, for her recent behavior inside an Ethiopian prison.

A video that went viral on Friday captured the minister celebrating with Nigerian inmates at AbaSamuel Prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The prisoners were jubilant after the signing of a bilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreement between Ethiopia and Nigeria, and they sang praises to President Bola Tinubu for securing the deal.

In response to the trending clip, Ojudu posted a statement on his official Facebook page on Sunday, questioning whether the minister was celebrating criminality.

He criticized the rationale behind the footage, arguing that it projects a negative image of the country and sends a harmful message to Nigerians who work hard to earn a living legitimately.

“What message are we sending to ourselves and to the world? If the objective was to negotiate the transfer of Nigerian prisoners back home, could that not have been done with dignity, sobriety, and a clear sense of the gravity of the situation? Must compassion be expressed in a manner that appears to celebrate criminality?” Ojudu wrote.

“Prison is not a place of celebration. It is a place of punishment, reflection, remorse, and, hopefully, rehabilitation. Public officials must be careful not to blur those distinctions. What has befallen us as a people?” he added.

“What does it say to those who have obeyed the law, endured hardship, and resisted the temptation to seek prosperity through crime? What does it say to the victims of fraud, trafficking, and other transnational crimes for which many Nigerians have found themselves imprisoned abroad?” Ojudu continued.

“It is a troubling image. And it should trouble both the rulers and the ruled. What a shame,” he concluded.