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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