A Nigerian, Itunu Babalola, who was wrongfully convicted in Côte d’Ivoire, is dead.
Investigative journalist David Hundeyin confirmed her death on Sunday, November 14, in a thread on his Twitter page.
Hundeyin had brought her case to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, in March 2021.
Babalola was said to have contracted an infection in prison, which led to her death last night.
In a series of tweets, David Hundeyin wrote: “I just received a message from Cote d’Ivoire about Itunu Babalola. She is still in prison in Abidjan, where she has contracted a serious infection, and apparently, she is dying.
“All those promises by NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri, OYSG, etc.—audio. She’s finally dying. Well done to the Nigerian government. Well done to NIDCOM and everyone responsible for this. Another young Nigerian is biting the dust. Round of applause for all of you.
“Write a federal petition, do a thread with 15,000 retweets, engage with the government, and do an investigative story. Even travelled illegally to Côte d’Ivoire in a fucking canoe to gather facts.
“Nothing we have not done to try to save this girl’s life but we come from Nigeria. Eight months of effort, 8 months of “Uncle David God bless you, eight months of hoping for Nigeria to prove me wrong FOR ONCE.
“It’s all over. Itunu is dead. She died this night, just confirmed.”
Babalola’s ordeal started when she reported the burglary of her house to the police in the Ivory Coast.
According to him, “Investigations carried out also indicated that the former prosecutor, in collaboration with the police, twisted her case and accused Babalola of human trafficking, which led to her conviction for 20 years, even though the sentence was reduced to 10 years, from which she has served two years so far.”
