To speed up the transfer of offenders from British jails, the UK government is to pay for a new wing at one of Nigeria’s largest prisons.
Up to £700,000 will be spent on a 112-bed annex in the Kiri Kiri prison in the major city of Lagos, the BBC reports.
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the new wing would enable eligible Nigerian inmates serving time in the UK to complete their sentences in their native country.
Ministry of Justice figures indicate there were 320 Nigerian prisoners in British jails at the end of 2016, around 3% of the foreign prisoner population, the BBC said.
"The provision of this assistance is in line with the government’s security and stability objectives in West Africa," Johnson said in a written statement to Parliament.
According to tenders placed with construction firms, the project will cost £695,525.
At the end of 2016 there were just under 10,000 foreign nationals within the UK prison population, 19% of which were from African countries, reports the BBC.
Image: For illustration purposes, photograph shows a detail of Robben Island Prison, South Africa (Wikimedia Commons)
