of the EFCC, and
suddenly
died
incumbent
that despite being in
a few
on
the
hours after
Nigerian
perfect health
prior
to his arrest,
he
he was detained. They submit that it was
authorities
to
carry
out
a
swift
and
thorough
investigation into the circumstances that led to the Victim's death, and that they
have failed to comply with this obligation.
31. The Complainants state that members of the Victim's family have pointed out
to the authorities that the circumstances of his death have to be investigated,
but his cause of death has not been established to date, the person responsible
for his death had not been identified and no light has been shed on the events
leading to his passing.
32. The Complainants reiterate the facts as captured in paragraphs 9 to 12 above,
adding that no autopsy had been carried out to the date of submission of the
admissibility submissions that the Victim's body remains in the morgue and
his
family
is
unable
to
give
him
a
proper
burial
and
obtain
closure.
The
Complainants submit that the Victim's family cannot be expected to take any
further legal step in order to exhaust domestic legal remedies, as it is incumbent
on
the State
custody.
to carry
The
underscores
out an
Complainants
effective investigation if a person dies
refer
to
the
large
body
of
case
law
in State
which
this obligation on states,2 submitting that the Respondent State
cannot dodge this obligation by referring the Complainants to take further legal
steps
on
their
own.
The
Complainants
also
submit
that
the
procedure
of
domestic legal remedies is unduly prolonged.
33. The Complainants aver that the Complaint was submitted w i t h i n a reasonable
time frame, in that they waited several months to give the Nigerian authorities
time to investigate the matter. In addition, they s u b m i t that they also went to
the
Attorney General and
the Senate of Nigeria.
However,
they submit that
when it became clear that the authorities are not going to shed
light on the
circumstances leading to the Victim's death, they submitted the complaint to
the African Commission. The Complainants submit that they neither submitted
their complaint prematurely nor did they hesitate too long before submitting
the complaint. In conclusion, the Complainants state that the case has not been
settled.
The Respondent State's S u b m i s s i o n s on Admissibility
34. Despite the fact that the Commission requested the Respondent State to submit
its arguments and evidence on a d m i s s i b i l i t y in accordance with Rule 105 (2), as
well as granting an extension in this regard, no response has been received. In
such cases the Commission has held that in the absence of a response from the
2
European Court of Hu ma n Rights in Fnnziyevn v Russia; Sl111111kavn v. Russia; Sli111a11i v. France; Mu rndynn