The Federal Government has demanded an explanation from the Côte d’Ivoire authorities over the circumstances that led to the death of a Nigerian national, Usama Murtala, after incarceration in the country’s prison.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu 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.
Usama 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.
They were, however, recently released following sustained engagements by the Nigerian Mission and diplomatic interventions by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Receiving the five survivors on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Tuesday night, the Minister had indicated that the Government will take up the case with the Ivorian authorities for compensation. Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu sought an explanation from the Ivorian envoy why the Nigerian authorities were not informed of their detention, thereby delaying diplomatic intervention.
She described the young men as people on a mere trading trip who also had the impediment of communicating effectively due to language barriers. They also did not have access to legal representation in the French-speaking country.
The Foreign Minister told the Ambassador that the seized phones, goods, money and other property of the traders were not handed back to them even after their release.
She further informed the envoy that the returnees had gone back to their state of origin, Sokoto. The minister urged the envoy to communicate this to the authorities in Abidjan while calling for a proper investigation of the unfortunate incident.
She, then, extracted a commitment that Cote d’ Ivoire will, going forward, treat Nigerian nationals with dignity.