[attach id=250564 size="medium"]Last year protesters called for justice over the deaths of migrants Ifeanyi Nwokoye and Mamadou Kamara. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi[/attach]

The body of a Nigerian migrant who has been in the hospital morgue since his death in mysterious circumstances two years ago is expected to be buried next month, the Times of Malta has learnt.

Ifeanyi Nwokoye, 29, died in April 2011 after he was captured following his escape from the Safi detention centre.

A magisterial inquiry into his death was concluded last year but the Attorney General is still considering whether to take any action against soldiers who allegedly beat him before he died.

Permission to release the body for burial was granted on July 5 after a thorough forensic investigation, according to a spokesman for the Health Ministry.

However, he was not buried due to a request by the head of the Emigrants Commission, Mgr Philip Calleja, on behalf of the family. He explained the family wanted “answers” about Mr Nwokoye’s death before laying him to rest.

The ministry spokesman said Mater Dei Hospital accepted the request on “humanitarian grounds”.

Eventually, a funeral was scheduled for December 19 but Mgr Calleja asked for another postponement “at the last moment”, the spokesman added.

The day after the Times of Malta sent questions about the case to the Health Ministry and to the Attorney General last week, Mgr Calleja was informed that a burial would be held next month, “due to the decomposition of the body”.

Mgr Calleja said he was trying to get in touch with Mr Nwokoye’s family in Nigeria but had not yet received a reply.

He had previously said that he had asked for a copy of the magisterial inquiry on behalf of the family a while ago but was never given a reply.

When asked, the Attorney General said he had “no record or recollection” of the family making such a demand.

According to the leaked conclusions of an independent inquiry, the report of which has not been published, two soldiers dealt several blows to Mr Nwokoye before he died.

Sources said the inquiry board had not been given access to the report of the autopsy, so it was unable to conclude whether the blows were excessive, leading to his death.

Another possibility, according to the independent inquiry, could be that Mr Nwokoye died of a weak heart or some other physical predisposition, as had been reported when he died.

Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said recently he was against delays on such matters but could not understand why the body could not be buried.

“Stopping the burial will not help in the investigation,” he said, adding that the family’s lawyer should ensure that all post-mortem tests were carried out and then give the go-ahead for the burial.

The family, he noted, was empowered to ask for a copy of the magisterial inquiry report, against payment.

Mr Nwokoye’s death received renewed attention last year following the death of another migrant, Malian Mamadou Kamara.

Two soldiers have been accused of Mr Kamara’s murder and the court case continues. A third soldier was accused of tampering with evidence.

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