The Federal Government has called on the Republic of Benin to release a Nigerian cleric, Pastor Benjamin Egbaji, who has reportedly been held under poor health conditions for nearly two years.
Egbaji, a businessman and pastor from Cross River State, is said to be receiving inadequate medical care at a hospital in Cotonou, where he remains in custody.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Special Assistant on Communication and New Media to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Magnus Eze, said the government is deeply concerned about the pastor’s deteriorating health and has urged Beninese authorities to allow his transfer to Nigeria for proper medical attention and to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, also confirmed that ongoing discussions with Nigeria’s Mission in Cotonou show Egbaji’s condition continues to worsen, stressing the need for urgent intervention.
She said the ministry has intensified diplomatic efforts to secure his evacuation in line with the citizen diplomacy policy of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu recalled that she had visited Egbaji in the Cotonou hospital in August alongside Benin’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olushegun Bakari, during which Nigeria formally requested that the pastor be transferred home for treatment.
She expressed concern over the slow response of the Beninese authorities to the appeal, urging them to act swiftly in the spirit of the long-standing friendship between both nations.
“Nigeria and Benin share deep cultural and historical ties rooted in mutual respect and brotherhood.
We expect this spirit to guide the prompt release and evacuation of Pastor Egbaji,” she said.
The minister added that the Federal Government’s position had been formally restated in a recent diplomatic correspondence to the Benin government.