SNOW HILL — A Nigerian national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) passed away last week while being detained in the Worcester County Jail.
Around 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, Anthony Oluseye Akinyemi, 56, of Nigeria, was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in his cell at the Worcester County Jail. Facility staff and emergency personnel attempted to revive Akinyemi but were unsuccessful.
The preliminary cause of death appears to be self-strangulation, according to an ICE release on the incident. However, the investigation remains open. Akinyemi had been in ICE custody for less than 24 hours at the time of his death, according to the release.
Akinyemi entered ICE custody on December 20, one day after he was convicted in Baltimore City Circuit Court for a sex offense and assault. ICE had previously lodged an immigration detainer against Akinyemi last July pursuant to his arrest for the sexual abuse of a minor.
According to the release, Akinyemi entered the U.S. lawfully on a non-immigrant visa in December 2017, but had failed to comply with the terms of his admission. At the time of his death in the Worcester County Jail on December 20, Akinyemi was in removal proceedings before federal immigration courts.
Consistent with ICE protocols, the appropriate agencies have been notified about Akinyemi’s death including the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility. In addition, ICE has notified the Nigerian consulate and Akinyemi’s next of kin. The agency’s comprehensive review will be conducted by ICE senior leadership to include Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.
ICE is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all of those in its custody and is undertaking a comprehensive, agency-wide review of the incident as it does in all such cases, according to the release. Fatalities in ICE custody are exceedingly rare statistically and occur at a fraction of the national average for the detained population in the U.S., according to the release.
