Nigerian Akinyemi commits suicide in US detention

A 56-year-old Nigerian, Anthony Oluseye Akinyemi has died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), less than 24 hours after he was detained.

Akinyemi was found unresponsive in his cell at the Worcester County Jail in Snow Hill, Maryland, on Saturday morning, according to an ICE statement published on its website.

His cause of death is believed to be suicide. He was the third person to die in ICE custody, Detention Watch Network said on Twitter.

“Anthony Oluseye Akinyemi, 56, was pronounced dead at 5:23 a.m. local time December 21, 2019, after he was found unresponsive in his cell and efforts by facility staff and emergency personnel to revive him were unsuccessful. The preliminary cause of death appears to be self-inflicted strangulation; however, the case is currently under investigation”, the ICE statement read.

Akinyemi had been in custody for less than 24 hours after being convicted of sexually assaulting a minor in Baltimore on Friday.