UAE leader accepts Tinubu’s invite to Nigeria

President urged to rescue Nigerians in Ivorian prisons

President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has accepted President Bola Tinubu’s invitation to visit Nigeria this year.

The Nigerian leader invited the Arab President, Wednesday night, during their bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2025.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian community in Cote d’Ivoire has called on Tinubu to urgently address the plight of Nigerians languishing in harsh conditions in Ivorian prisons.

The appeal highlights the alarming number of detainees, many of whom are reportedly innocent, detained due to administrative issues or extortion by opposition groups.

Tinubu arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday as a guest of the UAE President to participate in the Sustainability Week, a forum for exchanging ideas to support sustainable development worldwide and encourage collective action to address global challenges, such as climate change, water and energy crises.

He delivered Nigeria’s position on climate and other challenges earlier on Wednesday and congratulated the UAE leader for the successful event.

During the discussions, the Sheikh thanked the Nigerian leader for accepting his invitation and expressed the UAE’s determination to strengthen economic cooperation between Nigeria and his country.

While the two leaders explored areas to attract investment into Nigeria, Tinubu said his government’s economic reforms were yielding fruits and called on the UAE to partner Nigeria for economic development.

He said the reforms had stabilised and grown the economy, encouraging foreign investors to announce billion-dollar investments, signalling renewed confidence in doing business with Africa’s most populous nation.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu accompanied Tinubu to the meeting at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi.

BRIEFING journalists in Abuja, yesterday, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Nigerian Community in Cote d’Ivoire and Coordinator of the Delta State Community, Davidson Ogbu, urged the Federal Government to collaborate with Ivorian authorities to secure the release of detainees unjustly imprisoned and ensure improved conditions for those serving sentences.

Ogbu emphasised that many of the prisoners were ill and lack the financial means to resolve their administrative cases, leaving them stranded behind bars.

He noted that the situation required urgent attention to prevent further deterioration of their health and potential loss of lives.

The PRO called on the Nigerian government to address the systemic issues leading to these detentions and provide necessary support to ensure justice and improved welfare for Nigerian citizens abroad.

He stated, “I am raising the alarm because of the huge number of Nigerians languishing in Cote d’Ivoire prisons. I want the Federal Government to intervene because some of them are going through inhuman conditions. Some of them did not commit crime; they just needed administrative clearance.

“Many of them were thrown into prison by some of the elements who will go to the villages and arrest these women and extort them, and those who could not [pay] are kept in the prison. Nigerian government needs to intervene, maybe through the correctional service in Nigeria by collaborating with its counterpart in Cote d’Ivoire, and see how they can give better conditions to Nigerian prisoners.”