Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
An agreement to transfer sentenced persons was on Monday, September 11, 2017, signed between Nigeria and Hong Kong.
The deal was sealed by Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, and Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami.
“This agreement embodies a shared conviction of Hong Kong and Nigeria that allowing sentenced persons to return to their places of origin, where there are no language or cultural barriers and where friends and relatives can pay more regular visits, is conducive to their rehabilitation.
“Hong Kong’s policy is therefore to facilitate such transfers between Hong Kong and other places as far as possible,” Mr Lee said at the signing ceremony held at the Central Government Offices.
Under the Basic Law, the HKSAR Government may, with the authorisation of the Central People’s Government, make appropriate arrangements with other places for reciprocal juridical assistance, which include, among others, the transfer of sentenced persons.
This is the 17th TSP agreement the HKSAR has entered into with other jurisdictions. The other 16 jurisdictions that already have TSP agreements with the HKSAR are Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, India, Italy, Korea, the Macau Special Administrative Region, Mongolia, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“The signing of the agreement today also represents an important step forward in legal co-operation between Hong Kong and Nigeria,” Mr Lee said.
