Anthony Akinyemi, 56-year-old
Nigerian, has died in a detention facility where he is awaiting deportation
from the US.
He was reported to have committed
suicide on December 21 in the facility of the US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) at the Worcester County jail, Maryland.
Akinyemi was pronounced dead in
the morning, while efforts by emergency workers to revive him proved futile.
According to ICE, the deceased,
who entered the country as an immigrant in 2017, was admitted into custody a
day before his death after he was convicted of a sex offence with a minor.
“ICE had previously lodged an
immigration detainer against Mr. Akinyemi July 23, 2019, pursuant to his arrest
for sexual abuse of a minor,” the US immigration said in a statement.
“The preliminary cause of death
appears to be self-inflicted strangulation; however, the case is currently
under investigation.
“Consistent with the agency’s
protocols, the appropriate agencies have been notified about the death,
including the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General,
and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility. Additionally, ICE has notified
the Nigerian consulate and Mr. Akinyemi’s next of kin.
“ICE is firmly committed to the
health and welfare of all those in its custody and is undertaking a
comprehensive agency-wide review of this incident, as it does in all such
cases. Fatalities in ICE custody, statistically, are exceedingly rare and occur
at a fraction of the national average for the U.S. detained population.
“This agency’s comprehensive
review will be conducted by ICE senior leadership to include Enforcement and
Removal Operations, the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of
the Principal Legal Advisor.”
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