21-year-old Nigerian hangs himself in UK over fear of deportation

Riliwanu Balogan was found hanged at Glen Parva Young Offender’s Institute in Leicester in 2011, a day after his 21st birthday.

The inquest heard he had told staff he had nothing to live for. The hearing coincided with the release of a report, which said the centre had improved, but there were still problems.

The jury inquest, which finished Thursday, January 24, 2013, heard Mr Balogan moved to the UK when he was seven-years-old and spent much of his childhood in institutions. He was transferred to Glen Parva, which holds men aged 18 to 21, in April 2011 to await deportation.

The morning he was found hanged on 8 May 2011 staff assessed him after cutting himself.

Paul Mayfield, a senior prison officer, said at the hearing: “He told me he had nothing to live for. He said ‘I’ll be deported back to Nigeria. I’ve got no one back there. I’ll be living in the slums.”

He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary after staff tried to revive him but died a week later.

The hearing also heard he had a string of previous convictions and that at the end of April he struggled to speak to a nurse because he was sobbing so hard.

An interim report by the Inspectorate of Prisons showed the institute was “making sufficient progress” since its last inspection in 2009.

Inspectors, who visited after Mr Balogan’s death, said they were pleased to see improvements in the management of vulnerable prisoners and that suicide and self-harm was “generally well-managed”. But concerns were raised over dirty accommodation and the limited amount of time detainees spent outside their cells.

On Thursday, the jury recorded a verdict of misadventure.

[BBC]