Femi Ojudu Attacks Bianca Ojukwu for 'Dancing' With Nigerian Inmates in Ethiopian Prison

Former presidential aide, Babafemi Ojudu, has criticized Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, over a video showing her celebrating with Nigerian inmates at Aba Samuel Prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The video, which surfaced on social media, captured the minister and the inmates expressing excitement following the signing of a bilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreement between Nigeria and Ethiopia. The inmates also praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for facilitating the deal.

In a statement posted on his official Facebook page on Sunday, Ojudu questioned the message conveyed by the video. He asked whether the minister was celebrating criminal behavior and said the footage portrayed Nigeria in a bad light.

“What message are we sending to ourselves and to the world?” Ojudu wrote. “If the objective was to negotiate the transfer of Nigerian prisoners back home, could that not have been done with dignity, sobriety, and a clear sense of the gravity of the situation? Must compassion be expressed in a manner that appears to celebrate criminality?”

The former presidential aide said public officials must be careful not to blur the line between compassion and celebration.

“Prison is not a place of celebration. It is a place of punishment, reflection, remorse, and, hopefully, rehabilitation. Public officials must be careful not to blur those distinctions. What has befallen us as a people?” he said.

Ojudu warned that the video could send the wrong signal to law-abiding Nigerians who endure hardship without resorting to crime. He also asked what it communicates to victims of fraud, trafficking, and other transnational offenses for which some Nigerians are imprisoned abroad.

“It is a troubling image. And it should trouble both the rulers and the ruled. What a shame,” Ojudu said.

The prisoner transfer agreement, signed on June 10, 2026, is expected to allow about 100 Nigerians serving jail terms in Ethiopia to return to Nigeria to complete their sentences.