The Federal Government and the family of the late Itunu Babalola, the Nigerian lady who died in Côte d’Ivoire after she was wrongly jailed, have rejected the autopsy on the cause of her death.

Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa and the father of the deceased, Emmanuel Babalola, made this known at a meeting at the NiDCOM office in Lagos.

The twenty-four-year-old Itunu from Oyo State reportedly died on November fourteen and Nigerians took to social media to express their anger over her death.
Itunu reportedly 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.
Itunu was convicted and sentenced to twenty years in prison which was later reduced to ten years, but she died two years into her jail term.
Speaking, Dabiri-Erewa, who expressed NiDCOM deepest condolences to Babalola’s family, said though she (Dabiri-Erewa) was not a doctor, the autopsy left so many questions unanswered.
According to her, “I am not a doctor, but when I looked at the autopsy report itself, “Sepsis Complicated by Acute Respiratory Distress“, that is not acceptable even to me without being a doctor and I don’t think that should be acceptable.
In her words, “I believe that Nigeria should not just let this matter go just like that. We need to demand justice, how come she just died after everything has been done for her release?”.
According to her, the case had been transferred to Abidjan, the lawyer fees had been paid before the unfortunate incident.
She said even the lawyer said the girl was not guilty of the crime she was accused of.
“This autopsy, even to me, does not appear acceptable. So, I hope that we would not let the case go like that,” Dabiri-Erewa added.
She said the police officer in the case had been reported to Interpol, saying; “we are not going to relent. That police officer must be questioned.
Dabiri-Erewa assures that the Minister of Foreign Affairs will take the next necessary steps to demand from Cote d’Ivoire a lot more information than they have given about what happened to Itunu’s case.”
According to her, there is the need for African countries to treat one another with respect, decency and dignity.
The NiDCOM boss, who hinted that some lawyers had indicated interest in approaching ECOWAS Court on the matter, said Itunu would get vindication and justice even in death to give the family succour.
Again, it is a tough one, it is a tragic one. It should not have happened. If we let this go just like that, others will go just like that.
“How could this have even happened in another West African country? We will do all we can.
“Now that the autopsy report is out, there are more questions to ask. How was Itunu treated in prison? How come she just died like that when the next thing was for her to be released,” she asked.
Itunnu’s father, Emmanuel Babalola also rejected the autopsy report on his daughter.
He said the autopsy report which was written in French did not reflect “the true situation of the cause of death of Itunnu.”
Babalola, who wept uncontrollably, said he got somebody who interpreted some aspects of it to him.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the result of the post-mortem test.
The bereaved parent reportedly said, “My daughter was framed up and was wrongfully jailed. It is painful that they lied against her after breaking into her apartment and stealing 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.
“I don’t believe that she died of natural cause. I spoke with her on Wednesday in good health condition; how come she died two days later vomiting blood and claiming it was sepsis in her respiratory system. This is unacceptable.
“That is why I’m here to thank you for all you have done for me on her and through you appeal for justice for my late daughter.”
Babalola reiterated his call on the Federal Government to ensure his daughter’s name was cleared of the allegation and make sure that those who framed her up as well as those responsible for her death were brought to justice.
He stressed that while in prison, his daughter complained of poor treatment by the Ivorian government, noting that she was poorly looked after and suffered health complications.
“She told me how they took her to hinterland prison from the Cote d’Ivoire capital, Abidjan, a journey of about five hours, and imprisoned her there to discourage those championing the case as well frustrate the cause of justice,” he noted.