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FG confronts Cote D’Ivoire over death of Nigeria in detention without trial
The Federal Government has taken up the case of one Usama Murtala, a Nigerian citizen, who died in an Abidjan hospital just hours after being released from a year-long detention without trial, vowing to launch a formal diplomatic challenge with the Ivory Coast authorities.
Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who disclosed this in a statement posted on her official X handle on Tuesday, explained that Murtala was among six young Nigerian men, who travelled from Sokoto to Abidjan for the phone parts business, but 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 were not even notified of their arrest by the Ivorian authorities.
She wrote: “Their unfortunate circumstances were brought to my attention in April this year and when I contacted our Embassy in Abidjan, I was dismayed to discover that they had not even been notified of their arrest by the authorities there. The detainees were held in difficult conditions, with one of them, Usama Murtala, falling seriously ill while in custody.
“With sustained engagements by our Mission, and diplomatic interventions by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we are happy to secure the release of these citizens.
“Our officers at the Nigeria High Commission made spirited efforts to save his life by rushing him to a Critical Care Hospital for treatment, but alas, it was too late for Usama. 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.”
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.
The Minister, while giving update on the five surviving Nigerians — Aliyu Malami, Nasiru Umar, Shamsu Abubakar, Sa’adu Bello and Lyman Mohammed, she said they had since been brought back home, describing Murtala’s death as a painful reminder of the risks faced by many young Nigerians leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad.
“This is the reality many of our citizens face when they travel in search of greener pastures. Many are young people whose paths take unexpected and tragic turns. To the survivors of this harrowing ordeal — Aliyu Malami, Nasiru Umar, Shamsu Abubakar, Sa’adu Bello and Lyman Mohammed — we will be there to receive you and celebrate your triumph over adversity. In advance, we say, ‘Welcome home,’” she added.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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