FG Vows Action Against Côte D’ivoire Over Nigerian’s Death In Prison
The Federal Government has vowed to launch a formal diplomatic challenge against the Ivorian authorities following the tragic death of a Nigerian citizen, Usama Murtala, who died in an Abidjan hospital just hours after being released from a year-long detention without trial.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed this in a statement posted on her official X handle on Tuesday.
According to the minister, six young men, who travelled from Sokoto to Abidjan for the phone parts business, were arrested under what she described as suspicious circumstances and detained at MACA Prison without being charged or tried.
She said the ministry only became aware of their plight in April 2026 and was surprised to discover that the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan had not been notified of their arrest by the Ivorian authorities and held in difficult conditions, with one of them, Usama Murtala, falling seriously ill while in custody.
The minister regretted that the development ended in tragedy for Murtala, whose health had deteriorated significantly before his release and was subsequently rushed to hospital by officials of the Nigerian High Commission where he died.
She disclosed that Murtala was buried in Abidjan in accordance with Islamic rites at the request of his family, with his fellow former detainees and Nigerian embassy officials in attendance after which the five surviving Nigerians were brought back to Nigeria.
