The federal government has demanded compensation from Côte d’Ivoire over the death of Usama Murtala, a 24-year-old Nigerian trader, who was held in the country’s prison.
Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, minister of foreign affairs, summoned Kalilou Traore, the Ivorian ambassador to Nigeria, on Friday, according to a statement signed by Magnus Eze, the minister’s media aide.
Usama and five other young Nigerians — Aliyu Malami, Nasiru Umar, Shamsu Abubakar, Sa’adu Bello and Liman Mohammed — were said to have gone on a trading trip from Sokoto to Abidjan by road in August 2025, where they were arrested and detained in MACA Prison, Abidjan, without charge or trial.
“They were, however, recently released following sustained engagements by the Nigerian Mission and diplomatic interventions by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the statement reads.
According to the statement, while receiving the survivors at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja
