Eighteen Nigerians have a date with
the executioner tomorrow in the Asian state of Indonesia, except
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is currently on a visit to
Nigeria, intervenes.
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday
pleaded with his Indonesian counterpart to stop the execution of the
Nigerians who were convicted for drug-related offences.
He was yet to give any commitment before the two leaders went for a state dinner last night in Abuja.
Apart from the 18, 30 other Nigerians are on the death row in that country for drug trafficking.
Jonathan, who made the plea during a
bilateral discussion with the Indonesian President in Abuja, demanded a
bilateral tie on exchange of prisoners by both countries.
The Special Adviser to the President on
Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, in a tweet last night said his
principal was concerned about the planned execution.
Abati said: “President Jonathan
requested for a stay of execution of Nigerians on death row in Indonesia
while both explore agreement on exchange of prisoners.
“Both leaders agreed to support each
other also on the basis of reciprocity for non-permanent membership of
the UN Security Council for the period 2014/2015-2016.
“They discussed re-election of Kanayo
Nwanze of IFAD and candidature of Mari Pangestu for DG WTO and agreed to
support each other’s candidate.
“The presidents pledged to work together
towards attaining a more balanced and mutually beneficial relationship
between Nigeria and Indonesia. The two presidents agreed that Nigeria
and Indonesia will share best practices and capacity building in the
achievement of MDGs.”
A source said: “The Indonesian leader
has not made any commitment on Jonathan’s plea because of his country’s
strict laws on drug trafficking.
“We are hopeful that the execution will not hold on Monday. We do not know if there will be any waiver eventually.”
According to the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN), the visiting President was accompanied by 99 Indonesian
businessmen. On arrival, Yudhoyono inspected a guard of honour mounted
by the Brigade of Guards, and also a 21 gun-salute in his honour.
The FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, said
that the two-day visit of the Indonesian President would strengthen the
bilateral relations existing between the two countries.
After their bilateral discussions,
President Jonathan pointed out the importance of the conference and the
visit, stressing that it has become evident that most countries might
not be able to meet up with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He said: “We discussed areas that we can
work together, like food, agriculture, energy, politics and security,
particularly, in international peace keeping operations.”
Both leaders also agreed to promote
training cooperation involving military officers of both countries by
encouraging participation of Indonesian and Nigerian military officers
in training programmes at the staff colleges of both countries.
The two leaders discussed the conflicts
in Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and the Sahel, and the correlation between these
and the war on terror. They shared the view that terrorism remains a
global security threat. They, therefore, agreed to foster closer
bilateral partnership to address this threat by cooperating closely in
exchange of information, training and education as well as sharing of
best practices. The two leaders instructed the relevant agencies of both
countries to assess counter-terrorism needs upon which bilateral
collaboration would be appropriately developed.
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