Buhari probes death of 26 Nigerians in Mediterranean Sea

President Muhammadu Buhari has constituted a committee to probe the recent death of 26 Nigerian migrants in the Mediterranean.

The committee is also saddled with the responsibility of examining recent reports of the sale of Nigerian citizens through slavery.






​The​ ​team is being chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

Members of the committee include Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan; Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geofrey Onyeama; and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa.


Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, ​confirmed the development.

Similarly, Italian prosecutors have begu​n investigations into the ​incident.





Meanwhile, autopsy carried out on the bodies in Salerno, Italy, revealed that 25 of the girls died of asphyxiation in the water, while the remaining one suffered a wound to her liver.
​
​23 of the Nigerians ​had been on a rubber boat with 64 other migrants prior to their deaths.

​The victims were ​said to have been sexually abused​.

375 migrants ​rescued ​were from Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, The Gambia and Sudan.

Among the survivors were 52 children and 90 women, with​ ​eight​ ​reportedly
pregnant.