Widow of Nigerian man who died while resisting deportation, demands details

The 49-year-old Nigerian man who died in Calgary, Canada, after a confrontation with two officers, who were charged to ensure his deportation, last week Wednesday, has been identified as Bolanle Idowu Alo.He was on board a KLM flight destined for Amsterdam. The altercation occurred prior to takeoff. The plane was forced to return to the gate, where the Calgary police airport unit was called to the scene.

Officers found him in medical distress. He was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Alo first arrived in Canada in 2005, making a refugee claim.

He was, however, denied at every stage and ordered removed from Canada in February 2018. The documents said he had been cooperative with the Canada Border Services Agency, but maintained he didn’t want to return to Nigeria.

“Mr. Alo is adamant that he will face harm if he is returned to Nigeria and has consistently told officers that he will not return to Nigeria on his own and that he would only return if he is forced to,” stated the documents.

Once he was ordered removed, Nigerian High Commission officers interviewed Alo and raised concerns that he could become violent.

“Mr. Alo’s statements have increased from statements such as ‘I will not go back’ … to statements like “You will have to carry me like a dead man because I’m not going to my death,” said one of the CBSA documents.

His widow, who lives in Lagos with the couple’s two children, is said to be “heartbroken” and hoping for details about the circumstances that led to her husband’s death.