The House of Representatives of the Nigerian national Assembly has ordered the Ivorian Ambassador to Nigeria to account for the wrong imprisonment of a Nigerian citizens who died in the country’s detention facility. The federal awl makers insisted that Cote D’Ivoire must ensure that the wrongful incarceration that resulted in the death of a Nigerian citizen, Ms. Itunu Babalola, is urgently investigated.Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, in Ibadan, Oyo State, vowed that the House of Representatives will unravel circumstances surrounding the death of Ms. Babalola, who recently died in an Ivory Coast prison under strange circumstances.
Akande-Sadipe, during a condolence visit to the parents of the deceased, assured that all the actions necessary to unravel this case will be encouraged, which may include a thorough coroners’ inquest to investigate the circumstances surrounding Itunu Babalola’s death.
Babalola, popularly known as, Becky Paul, was sentenced for an offense she didn’t commit in the Francophone country.
Akande-Sadipe, reiterated that the House of Representatives is always committed to the safety of Nigerians in the diaspora, and will not rest until it gets justice for Itunu Babalola, even in death.
She said the Committee on Diaspora is not satisfied with the result of the autopsy carried out in Cote d’Ivoire, adding that “a thorough investigation on the matter must still be carried out”.
Akande-Sadipe, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government not to let Itunu’s death be swept under the carpet.
“Itunu will be vindicated and her name will be cleared. It is not going to stop here, I promise”, she said.
Itunu’s father, Emmanuel Babalola, while in tears, said that the family can only have closure through a thorough investigation into the cause of their daughter’s death, adding that through an independent toxicologist, the cause of her death can be established.
Thanking Akande-Sadipe for her kind gesture, Babalola reiterated that Itunu was victimized in prison and appealed to the Federal Government to wade into the matter, urgently.