FG Secures Release of Pastor Benjamin From Benin Prison After Presidential Pardon

FG Secures Release of Pastor Benjamin From Benin Prison After Presidential Pardon

The Federal Government of Nigeria has secured the release of Pastor Benjamin Egbaji, a Nigerian national who was serving a 10-year jail sentence in the Republic of Benin.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed that Egbaji regained his freedom on Thursday, January 8, 2026, following a presidential pardon granted by Benin’s President Patrice Talon after months of diplomatic engagements led by Nigeria.

Egbaji, a businessman and cleric from Cross River State, was convicted in July 2024 for the rape of a 13-year-old girl, Bright Sarah Karls, and was sentenced to ten years in prison along with fines totaling $6,600 payable to the victim and the Benin National Institute for Women’s Affairs (INF).

The cleric was initially detained under harsh conditions at a hospital in Cotonou, where his health deteriorated over more than two years before he was eventually transferred to prison. A viral photograph showing Egbaji chained to a hospital bed sparked national outrage and prompted urgent diplomatic intervention.

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Odumegwu-Ojukwu attributed the breakthrough to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to citizen diplomacy, a pillar of Nigeria’s foreign policy under the Renewed Hope Agenda, and highlighted the Diaspora component of the Four-Ds foreign policy framework — Democracy, Demography, Diaspora, and Development — which emphasizes the protection of Nigerians abroad.

Following his release, the minister confirmed that Egbaji was in high spirits but in need of urgent medical attention, adding that Nigeria had repeatedly appealed to Beninois authorities either to release him on humanitarian grounds or allow him to serve his sentence in Nigeria to access better healthcare.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu personally visited Egbaji in August 2025 and engaged Benin’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, in formal communications advocating for his repatriation, citing recommendations by independent medical experts for urgent treatment abroad.

Speaking on the development, Alhaji Mohammad Munir, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), Benin Republic chapter, praised the minister for her exceptional diplomatic effort, describing her as committed to the welfare of Nigerians in the diaspora. He also commended President Tinubu for prioritizing the protection of citizens abroad and called on the government to intensify efforts to rescue other Nigerians imprisoned unjustly in foreign countries.

FG Secures Release of Pastor Benjamin From Benin Prison After Presidential Pardon