The facility has been expanded over the years and now occupies most of Xinzhou, an island in the East River where the prison is situated.
Nigerians have asked President Bola Tinubu to take urgent action to save Nigerians who are dying in Dongguan Prison in China.
The prison was opened in November 1988 as Shilong Prison and was given its current name in 1995.
The facility has been expanded over the years and now occupies most of Xinzhou, an island in the East River where the prison is situated.
It was gathered that the inmates of Dongguan Prison, many of whom are Nigerians, have lamented that they have endured unimaginable suffering and injustice.
The prison has reportedly become a living nightmare for over 5,000 Nigerians, many of whom are said to be innocent of the crimes they were charged with.
One former inmate who identified himself as Mr. Onowu Chukwuemeka, who spent 15 years in the prison, painted a grim picture of the daily horrors faced by the prisoners in the facility.
Chukwuemeka revealed that the majority of Nigerians incarcerated in the prison were wrongfully accused, with their court-appointed attorneys often compromised and working for the Chinese government.
The prison was also described as a labour camp with inmates said to be forced to work gruelling hours for various manufacturing companies, with the promise of reduced sentences if they meet their targets.
However, this is reportedly a lie, as even those who work themselves to the bone are not granted any leniency while inmates who fail to meet their quotas are subjected to merciless beatings, starvation, and solitary confinement.
It was also gathered that the inmates were exposed to deplorable working conditions, with no safety equipment provided.
Many inmates have reportedly died from inhaling toxic fumes, melted plastics, and other hazardous materials while assembling products like phone chargers, headphones, and lamps.
The situation is said to be so terrible that the meagre food they receive, consisting of half-cooked rice and vegetables, is barely enough to sustain them.
It was gathered that the Nigerian Ambassador's visits to the prison and his attempts to address some of the horrifying issues during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration were the only spark of hope that had been seen by the hapless Nigerians.
The efforts eventually reportedly failed due to the change in government, leading to the cessation of visits by representatives of the Nigerian embassy.
During former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, it was learnt that despite the outrage from the prison and human rights organizations, neither the Nigerian Ambassador in China nor his emissary made any effort to visit the prison during the eight years of that administration.
All the proposed negotiations with the Chinese government by the Jonathan government were reportedly abandoned under the new government.
Unfortunately, the inmates are said to live in constant fear, with the threat of solitary confinement to silence those who dare to speak out.
The Dongguan Prison is said to have become a nightmarish labour camp, where Nigerians are exploited, abused, and denied their basic human rights.
An American sociology professor, Stuart Foster, who was an inmate in the prison, lamented that if not for the intervention of the American embassy, he would still be in prison assembling Christmas trees for companies, without pay.
“Being an American, I was spared the harshest of punishments. Thanks to the Consulate’s involvement, the prison adopted a “hands off” approach and I was rarely beaten or physically mistreated," he said.
He added, “Other foreigners, such as Africans, sometimes languished for over a year without a court date or outside communication.
“Likewise, most of the other foreign prisoners, Africans and even some Chinese prisoners, had simply disappeared from the outside world without their family knowing if they were dead or alive.
“Without the U.S. Consulate, today I would still be assembling Christmas lights for no pay and sleeping on a concrete floor while surviving on rice, turnips and a little pork fat.”
In 2013, former inmates told The Australian Financial Review that they were forced to make disposable headphones sold to major airlines for the equivalent of around £0.85 per month.
They said they were beaten, tasered, or put in solitary confinement for failing to achieve production targets.
Similarly, Der Spiegel interviewed several ex-inmates of Dongguan Prison in 2019. They described overcrowded living conditions and sweltering heat in the summertime.
A German ex-prisoner said that the prisoners were forced to work nine-hour days, six or seven days a week, manufacturing model Porsche cars, Samsonite-branded luggage locks, and transformers.
The Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, while reacting to the outcry of Nigerians in the prison, decried the situation.
Nwanguma urged the Nigerian authorities to take action to secure the lives of its citizens in the prison.
The RULAAC boss said, "This is a startling and chilling story of inhumanity against foreign citizens in China. I see, from the story, how American embassy personnel in China intervened decisively to save and secure the freedom of an American citizen in the inhuman dungeon.
“That is how a country that truly cares for its citizens and values their liberty and dignity responds. And that easily inspires citizens' patriotism and sacrifice for their country.
“Contrast the response of the American authorities with that of the Nigerian authorities under successive administrations.
“It's truly a shame if indeed Nigerian authorities are aware of the undeserved punishment and indignities their citizens are going through in that Chinese prison and abandon them to continue to suffer.
“I think that the Nigerian government should urgently explore diplomatic efforts to secure the freedom of Nigerians in that prison.”
He called on President Tinubu’s administration to, as a matter of urgency, “intervene to secure the release of innocent Nigerians (in the prison) and put an end to the rampant egregious violations of human dignity”.