There has been an out-pour of outrage among Nigerians living in Malaysia after a Nigerian student, Thomas Orhions Ewansiha died in the custody of immigration officials.
Thomas Orhions Ewansiha was arrested by immigration officials while trying to flee from officers during a raid on July 4.
Malaysian media reported that despite producing a valid student pass, Ewansiha’s attempt to escape led to him being detained for 14 days at the Bukit Jalil depot.
He was detained there pending further investigations in order to verify the authenticity of his documents.
But he died in custody on July 9 after suffering seizure, according to security officials.
The Straits Times reported that Immigration Department director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud in the statement said “At around 12.05am on July 9, the officers on duty were told by the other detainees that the subject had had a seizure in his sleep.”
“Immediate aid and medical checks were conducted and the hospital was contacted to assist as well.”
But medical personnel from Universiti Kebangsaan Hospital who arrived to help Ewanshiha pronounced dead.
The death of the student sparked protests from Nigerians in Malaysia who have demonstrated outside the Nigerian embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
The Nigerians accused their high commission in Malaysia of doing little to protect Nigerian nationals.
Promising young man
Ewanshiha was a student of the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Selangor.
The 33-year old was pursuing his PhD in management, and was married with two young children.
The Immigration Department is still waiting for a full medical report to know the exact cause of death, via a post-mortem.
This month another 26-year-old Nigerian man, Kumbha Roderick serving a jail term in India was also reported dead.
Kumbha Roderick was arrested on September 30, 2018 by police for offences relating to forging documents “for purpose of cheating”.
Roderick however fell unconscious and was taken to a hospital located in the city of Mathura. He was also pronounced dead by medical staff.
Source: Africafeeds.com
