Nigerian Man Commits Suicide In US Detention Center While Awaiting Deportation

Anthony Oluseye Akinyemi, a Nigerian man in USA, has reportedly died of suspected suicide on Saturday morning while in custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

According to the agency in its statement on Monday December 23, the 56-year-old Nigerian man who was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor in Baltimore, was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday December 21.

ICE said in its 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.”

The Nigerian man travelled to the United States legally in December 2017 on a non-immigrant visa. ICE however said he violated his terms of admission into the country, having been arrested for sexual abuse of a minor in July 2019.