Group Demands Probe into Death of Nigerian Academic in South Africa

Speak Out for Justice Advocacy Ltd/Gte (SOJA) has called for a full, independent and transparent investigation into the death of a 51-year-old Nigerian academic, Dr Ayodele Temidayo Odularu, who was reportedly found dead at her residence in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province on August 16.

The rights advocacy organisation made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday by its Founder and Executive Director, Hameed Ajibola Jimoh, amid concerns raised by Odularu’s family over the circumstances surrounding her death.

Odularu, a Nigerian academic and researcher associated with the University of Fort Hare, was reportedly found dead at her residence, with the university subsequently holding a memorial service in her honour.

While SOJA stressed that no competent authority had publicly established the cause or manner of her death, it said the uncertainty surrounding the circumstances made a credible investigation imperative.

The organisation cautioned against prematurely describing the death as murder, an attack or an act of xenophobic violence, insisting that such conclusions must be based on evidence.

However, SOJA argued that the absence of an established cause of death should not become a reason for the case to be closed without exhaustive investigation.

“An investigation must therefore neither manufacture a crime where none occurred nor dismiss a possible crime as a natural death without proper evidence,” the organisation said.

SOJA urged the South African Police Service, prosecutorial authorities, medico-legal officials and other relevant institutions to establish the precise medical cause of death and reconstruct the circumstances leading to Odularu’s death.

It specifically called for scrutiny of events at her residence before she was found dead, the circumstances in which she was last seen alive, and any evidence of forced entry, struggle, injury, poisoning, assault or other suspicious circumstances.

The organisation also demanded the preservation and examination of potentially crucial evidence, including CCTV footage, telephone records and electronic communications, as well as a proper post-mortem examination and toxicological or other forensic analyses where necessary.

It further urged investigators to establish whether anyone who had access to Odularu, communicated with her or visited her shortly before her death could provide information relevant to the investigation.

SOJA’s intervention comes against the backdrop of recurring concerns over the safety of Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa, but the organisation said the broader context should not be used to predetermine the cause of Odularu’s death.

According to the group, investigators must examine all reasonable possibilities, including criminality, discrimination, xenophobic hostility, interpersonal conflict, accident and medical causes.

“Dr Odularu was a Nigerian citizen, but she was also a human being living and working within the jurisdiction of South Africa. Her nationality could never lawfully reduce the protection owed to her life, dignity and physical security,” SOJA said.

The organisation cited South Africa’s constitutional protection of the right to life and human dignity, as well as its obligations under international human-rights instruments, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

It also referred to South Africa’s Inquests Act 58 of 1959, which provides for inquests into deaths apparently resulting from causes other than natural causes.

SOJA maintained that the legal framework should be allowed to operate without interference where questions arise over whether a death was natural, accidental, suicidal, homicidal or otherwise unlawfully caused.

The organisation also turned its attention to the Nigerian government, urging the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria’s diplomatic mission in South Africa to engage directly with Odularu’s family and establish the status of the investigation.

It called for appropriate consular assistance, regular communication with the family and diplomatic engagement where credible evidence eventually establishes that the death was connected to a crime, discrimination, xenophobic violence or other unlawful conduct.

“The Nigerian Government should not wait until public outrage subsides before seeking answers concerning the death of a Nigerian citizen abroad,” SOJA said.

The group also demanded that Odularu’s remains be treated with dignity and that her family be provided with appropriate information on the investigation, subject to lawful investigative restrictions.

It said any person found criminally responsible should face prosecution, while evidence of negligence or institutional failure should trigger appropriate accountability and corrective measures.

Conversely, SOJA said, if credible medical and investigative evidence establishes that the death was natural or accidental, that conclusion should be communicated on the basis of those findings.

The organisation stressed that the objective should not be to satisfy public curiosity but to establish the truth and ensure justice and accountability.

“Dr Ayodele Temidayo Odularu was not merely a statistic in an international news report. She was a daughter, sister, aunt, colleague, mentor, researcher and member of the Nigerian community whose life had value and whose death deserves a truthful account,” SOJA said.

It urged authorities to ensure that the circumstances surrounding her death do not remain unresolved, demanding “truth for the family, justice for Dr Ayodele Temidayo Odularu and accountability where wrongdoing is established.”

SOJA also called for stronger protection for Nigerians and other African nationals living and working in South Africa, stressing that nationality should never diminish the protection accorded to human life.