The federal government has demanded compensation from Côte d’Ivoire over the death of Usama Murtala, a 24-year-old Nigerian trader, who was held in the country’s prison.
Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, minister of foreign affairs,
summoned Kalilou Traore, the Ivorian ambassador to Nigeria, on Friday,
according to a statement signed by Magnus Eze, the minister’s media aide.
Usama and five other young Nigerians — Aliyu Malami, Nasiru
Umar, Shamsu Abubakar, Sa’adu Bello and Liman Mohammed — were said to have gone
on a trading trip from Sokoto to Abidjan by road in August 2025, 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,” the statement reads.
According to the statement, while receiving the survivors at
the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Tuesday night, the
minister indicated that the government “will be taking up the case with the
Ivorian authorities”.
“Odumegwu-Ojukwu sought an explanation from the Ivorian
envoy as to why the Nigerian authorities were not informed of their detention,
thereby delaying diplomatic intervention,” the statement said.
She described the Nigerians as traders on a business trip
who were hindered by language barriers and denied access to legal
representation in the French-speaking country.
“These young men were simply detained and taken to prison,”
the minister was quoted as saying.
“For these months, they had poor nutrition as they were fed
once a day. Two of them were critically ill and one eventually died.
“Nobody could give reasons why they were arrested and
detained for so long without trial or charge.”
Odumegwu-Ojukwu also informed the ambassador that the
traders’ phones, goods, money and other personal belongings were not returned
to them even after their release.
She further informed the envoy that the returnees had gone
back to their home state of Sokoto, “but the sad memory of the death of their
colleague will linger”.
“We want you to communicate this to the authorities in
Abidjan,” the minister said.
“This should be properly investigated; it should be probed.
And anytime there are issues involving our nationals, the embassy in Abidjan
should be informed. We are aware of what language barriers could cause.
“So, we seek compensation for the dead young man’s family
and a commitment that Côte d’Ivoire will, going forward, treat our nationals
with dignity.”
Responding, the Ivorian envoy expressed condolences to the
family of the deceased Nigerian and to the country.
He said he would communicate Nigeria’s concerns to the
authorities in Abidjan as soon as possible.
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