TheCable

Emmanuel Babalola, father of Itunu Babalola, a Nigerian lady who died in prison in Côte D’Ivoire, has rejected the report of the autopsy carried out on his daughter.

He spoke on Tuesday when he paid a visit to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), in Lagos.

Babalola got entangled in a legal battle when she reported to the police that her house in Bondoukou, Cote d’Ivoire, had been burgled.

She was said to have been charged to court and the prosecutor in collaboration with the police allegedly compromised the case and accused her of human trafficking.

Babalola was eventually convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to 10 years.

But on November 15, she died in a Cote d’Ivoire prison — after spending more than two years in incarceration.

According to a statement by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, NIDCOM spokesman, the deceased’s father said the autopsy report which stated that Babalola died of “sepsis complicated by acute respiratory distress”, did not reflect the true cause of his daughter’s death.

“My daughter was framed and was wrongfully jailed. It is painful that they lied against her after breaking into her apartment and stole her property. But it is even disheartening that she died mysteriously in prison after the intervention of your commission when she was about to be freed,” he was quoted as saying.

“I don’t believe that she died of natural causes. I spoke with her on Wednesday in good health condition. How come she died two days later vomiting blood and claiming it was sepsis complicated by acute respiratory distress? This is unacceptable.

“That is why I am here to thank you for all you have done for me on her and, through you, appealing for justice for my late daughter.”

He also said his daughter complained of poor treatment while in the custody of the Ivorian government.

Responding, Dabiri-Erewa condoled with the Babalola family and assured the father that the matter would not be ignored.

She agreed that the autopsy report did leave a lot of doubts because there are gaps in the medical report which calls for more investigation.

Dabiri-Erewa said some lawyers have indicated their willingness to take the matter up with the ECOWAS court to seek justice.

She also provided some financial support for the family.