Posted by Abisola Olasupo | 24 December 2019 | 2,837 times
A Nigerian man has died
in the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency
said on Monday.
ICE said Anthony Oluseye
Akinyemi, 56, might have strangled himself to death at the Worcester County
Jail in Snow Hill, Maryland.
He was found dead on
Saturday morning.
“The preliminary cause
of death appears to be self-inflicted strangulation; however, the case is
currently under investigation,” ICE said in a statement.
Akinyemi was arrested on
Friday. His death was, at least, eighth in ICE custody this year and the second
to be ruled a suicide within a week
Akinyemi travelled to
the United States legally in December 2017 on a non-immigrant visa. But ICE
said he violated his terms of admission into the country, having been arrested
for sexual abuse of a minor in July.
He was convicted in
Baltimore City Circuit Court for a sex offence and assault.
“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,” the agency
said.
“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 Guardian)
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