President Patrice Talon of the Republic of Benin has granted clemency to Benjamin Egbaji, a Nigerian pastor who had been incarcerated in the neighbouring country for over two years.
It is unclear what Egbaji, who is also a businessman from Cross River, was charged with.
Officials said he was detained under dehumanising conditions in a hospital in Cotonou, the Republic of Benin’s capital, before being transferred to prison as his health deteriorated.
Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Nigeria’s minister of state for foreign affairs, said in a statement by Magnus Eze, her media aide, that the cleric regained his freedom on Thursday.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the pardon, gazetted on December 17, 2025, followed sustained diplomatic engagements by the ministry of foreign affairs, including her visit to the cleric while he was detained in a Cotonou hospital last August.
The minister said public outrage grew after images showing the ailing pastor chained to a hospital bed spread on social media, prompting the federal government to step up diplomatic pressure to secure his release or his transfer home for medical treatment and to serve out his sentence.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said she spoke with Egbaji shortly after his release and confirmed that he was in good spirits but still needed urgent medical attention.
She said the federal government had made repeated humanitarian appeals to Beninese authorities, backed by medical assessments from court-appointed experts recommending immediate treatment outside the country.
The minister said there were delays, prompting concerns, despite the long-standing relationship between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu attributed the breakthrough to President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to citizen diplomacy, a core component of Nigeria’s foreign policy.
