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Diasporia News of Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Source: The Searchlight

Ghanaian Prince Dies In Custody of Japanese Immigration

The family of a Ghanaian prince from a royal home up north, who died in the custody of Japanese Immigration, is calling for full investigations into how their son died, since they believe that he was killed by the authorities in Japan!

Additionally they have called for a repatriation of the body to Ghana as well as full compensation for the killing, if it is established that he died unlawfully.

In an interview with members of his family in Accra yesterday, March 29, 2010, they said that Awudu Samad Abubakar, popularly known as ‘Mac Barry’ was a resident of Japan, and died in the capital town of Japan; Tokyo, while under the detention of the Japanese immigration on Sunday, 21st March, 2010.

Mac Barry, who would have turned 46 in October this year, was arrested by the Immigration on his way to work from his residence in Tokyo almost a year now. He was sent to the Japanese National Airport at Tokyo last week Sunday to be deported to Ghana, but the attempted repatriation was stopped when flight officials saw how weak the victim was.

The pilot on board the Egypt Air Flight, which was to carry Mc Barry to Ghana upon realising that he was dead, rejected the request of the Japanese Immigration even when they insisted that the remains of Mc Barry should be repatriated.

According to the family, the corpse of Awudu Samad Abubakar was subsequently rejected by his Japanese wife, Yuko Tatara, when the immigration called her to come for the corpse of her husband. The reason his wife gave was that she had been doing everything possible for the release of her husband but all her actions did not yield any positive results and that they should bare their own cross.

Mc Barry had lived in Japan for more than 22 years and resides at F2YUWA HITUS 3-8-47 IZUMISUGINAMI-KU 1680063 in Tokyo; Japan legally.

The Immigration managed to forge an International Travel Certificate (ITC) to enable them transport him without the knowledge of the Ghanaian Embassy in Japan.

At present, all his travelling and other documents are in the hands of the Japanese Immigration and but for the help of the Egyptian Air Pilot and Mac Barry Japanese wife, nobody would have known about his death.

Information gathered by the Searchlight indicates that some black Africans in Tokyo went on a peaceful demonstration against the Japanese government for what they believe was an act of injustice and abuse of human rights on Awudu Samad Abubakar who is now in the mortuary in Tokyo.

After the demonstration, the Japanese government sent a letter of apology to the Ghana Embassy in Japan but was turned down, as they demanded an autopsy on the dead body of the Ghanaians.

Speaking to Ayiba Larry, the family head of the deceased, he disclosed that Awudu Samad Abubakar is the heir to the skin of Chamba-Banumba traditional area and that their family has lost a pillar.

“His death come us as shock. Even his mother who has BP collapsed upon hearing the sad news. His death is a total loss to our family and our community as a whole,” he added. He demanded on behalf of the family that a private doctor carries out the autopsy to find out the cause of the death of Samad Abubakar after which the body should be flown back to Ghana.

“We also want the Japanese government to compensate us even though no amount of money can replace our beloved Awudu Samad Abubakar,” Mr Larry added.