Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has visited Benjamin Egbaji, a Nigerian pastor in incarceration for two years in the Republic of Benin, following complications in litigation against him.
This is as the minister restated that citizen diplomacy remains a major component of the 4-Ds foreign policy approach of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the federal government which comprises Democracy, Demography, Diaspora and Development.
Egbaji, who has been detained in the prison and the National Teaching Hospital, Cotonou, faces charges, including allegation that he raped a 13-year-old girl, Bright Sarah Karls in 2011.
He was arrested and detained on May 17, 2023, and was taken to prison two days later, resulting in his deteriorating health in Cotonou.
On July 24, 2024, Egbaji was convicted of the charge and sentenced to 10 years in prison in Cotonou, Benin Republic. He was ordered to pay a fine of $3,300 to Sarah Ahouandjinou, and another $3,300 to the Benin National Institute for Women Affairs (INF).
Born in 1965, Egbaji has lived in Benin Republic for the last 30 years. He ran a successful real estate firm and a pastoral ministry in addition to being an entrepreneur.
In 2020, he contacted the Nigerian Embassy regarding a matter involving his assets and asked for the Embassy’s presence before the court’s decision. The Embassy was represented by the consular desk officer, and Egbaji prevailed in the case against a Beninese national known as Pede Victoire, a female.
But Odumegwu-Ojukwu during the visit, according to a statement by her spokesman, Dr. Magnum Eze, assured the embattled pastor that the country had not abandoned him.
She informed Egbaji that President Bola Tinubu and Nigerians were aware of his case, adding that it was consistent with the citizen’s diplomacy mantra of the present administration to protect every Nigerian citizen anywhere they are found in the world.
“I want to assure you that Nigeria hasn’t forgotten you; Nigerians are aware of your case, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is aware. We are committed to the wellbeing of every Nigeria-that’s what citizen diplomacy is all about. That’s why we have said we must visit you.
“It’s not a hopeless situation; we must do everything to ensure that you get justice. We are following due process to ensure that you don’t suffer unduly. So, as a government, we are duty-bound to protect every Nigerian citizen. Your suffering will soon be over; just be a little more patient for the processes to be concluded,” the minister urged Egbaji.
Michael Olugbode
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