A Nigerian student has died in the custody of Malaysian immigration authorities, sparking protests at the Nigerian High Commission in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
A statement on Friday by the Immigration Department said the deceased, Thomas Ewansiha, was arrested because he had tried to flee from its officers during a raid on July 4.
It was learnt that Mr Ewansiha, 33, was detained for 14 days at the Bukit Jalil depot for the officers to verify the authenticity of his student pass.
Immigration officers stormed apartments in Desa Aman Puri in Kuala Lumpur, arresting 20 foreigners following a tip-off that African nationals who did not have valid documents were at the location.
“At around 12.05am on July 9, the officers on duty were told by the other detainees that the subject had had a seizure in his sleep,” said Immigration Department director-general, Khairul Dzaimee Daud, in the statement.
The Nigerian was pronounced dead after medical personnel from Universiti Kebangsaan Hospital arrived at 12.30am to help him.
Ewansiha was a student of the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Selangor, pursuing his Ph.D. in management, and was married with two young children.
The private university said it was notified of his death on Thursday. It also suspended all classes on Friday.
Protests have rocked the Nigerian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur since Thursday.
The protesters say the commission had been indifferent to the welfare of its countrymen in Malaysia.
Police said on Friday they would be increasing their presence at the commission to maintain order.
