Shehu Sani Condemns U.S. Deportation of Venezuelan Prisoners to Nigeria

Former Senator Shehu Sani has strongly criticized the reported plan by the United States to deport Venezuelan prisoners to Nigeria, calling it inappropriate and unjustified.

Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th National Assembly, made his position clear in a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.

“If the US wants to send Nigerian prisoners in US jails back to Nigeria, that is ok and should be accepted.
We don’t want Venezuelan prisoners in our country and there should be no space for them now or in the future,” he wrote.

The statement came after Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar revealed that the U.S. has been putting pressure on Nigeria and other African countries to accept deported Venezuelans.

Tuggar, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, noted that Nigeria has not agreed to take the prisoners and likely won’t do so, considering the lack of direct ties to Venezuela’s inmates.

Shehu Sani’s response emphasized the difference between accepting Nigerian nationals, which he agrees is reasonable, and housing foreign prisoners with no ties to the country.

Many Nigerians have echoed his stance, questioning the logic and fairness of the proposal.