The federal government has demanded an explanation from the Côte’Ivoire authorities over the circumstances that led to the death of a Nigerian national, Usama Murtala, after incarceration in the country’s prison.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X handle on Friday.
The statement said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who summoned the Ivorian Ambassador to Nigeria, Kalilou Traore, to a meeting at her office on Friday, also called for due compensation to the deceased’s family.
“Murtala and five other young Nigerians-Aliyu Malami, Nasiru Umar, Shamsu Abubakar, Sa’adu Bello and Liman Mohammed had gone on a trading trip from Sokoto to Abidjan by road, August last year, where they were arrested and detained in MACA Prison, Abidjan, without charge or trial,” the statement said.
The Nigerian government had recently secured the release of six Nigerians detained in Côte’Ivoire without trial.
The group arrived in Abuja on Thursday and was received by officials of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), and the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
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Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu said Mr Murtala fell ill while in detention and received inadequate medical attention, which worsened his condition.
According to the minister, Mr Murtala was released from prison with others and was taken to a critical care hospital for treatment by officials of the Nigerian high commission. However, the intervention came too late.
“He died the next morning, far from home and family, oblivious to the fact that his mother and siblings in Sokoto were excitedly preparing for his return,” the minister said.
She said Mr Murtala was buried the following day in a cemetery on the outskirts of Abidjan, with his co-detainees and officials of the Nigerian high commission, in accordance with Islamic rites and at the request of his parents.
