More than a year after Nana Agyei Oduru Ahyia, an 18-year-old Ghanaian engineering student, was found dead beneath his apartment building in Riga, Latvia, his mother continues to demand justice insisting her son was killed by acquaintances, and rejecting the official account that his death was a suicide or accident.
What the Family Says Happened
Nana Agyei was a first-year Electrical Engineering (Adaptronic) student at Riga Technical University, having enrolled in July 2024. On June 1, 2025, three days before his death, he reportedly sent a distressing voice note to relatives claiming he had been poisoned after being offered a drink by two Latvian acquaintances, and that he had collapsed and been hospitalized. On June 4, 2025, his family was informed that he had died after falling from the sixth floor of his apartment building on Baznīcas Street in Riga.
Authorities initially characterized the death as either a suicide or an accident. The family has firmly rejected that conclusion, pointing to inconsistencies they say undermine it: the voice note describing poisoning, medical records the family says confirmed poisoning, the fact that his body was found fully clothed with only a scratch on the forehead, and what they describe as a premature police conclusion reached without producing forensic evidence or properly interrogating the acquaintances he named.
“We received news that he fell from the sixth floor and died. But we said, no, that cannot be true. There’s no way he would commit suicide,” family spokesperson Sarah Nimli has said, adding that the family suspected a cover-up because those allegedly involved were Latvian nationals and police were slow to respond.
Ghana’s Diplomatic Response
The case has drawn sustained engagement from Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who announced an investigation through diplomatic channels shortly after reports of the death circulated widely, including via a video alleging the killing. “Nobody harms a Ghanaian in any part of the world and gets away with it,” Ablakwa said at the time.
A fact-finding mission from Ghana’s Embassy in Berlin, which holds concurrent accreditation to Latvia, was dispatched and submitted a preliminary report to the ministry. In February 2026, Ablakwa led a specialized delegation including forensic experts, a pathologist, lawyers, Ghana’s ambassador and consular officers to Latvia, meeting Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis, police chiefs, state prosecutors and the investigators handling the case. Nana Agyei’s mother and aunt were present throughout the deliberations, with his mother submitting a formal statement as part of the official record.
Following that engagement, Latvia’s Interior Ministry assumed direct supervisory responsibility over the investigation and appointed a new team of investigators. Ghana also secured a commitment that the final investigative report would be shared with the family, a request Latvian authority did not object to.
A Case Still Unresolved
Riga Technical University has said it holds no information on the incident, noting Nana Agyei was not on campus or university-controlled property at the time of his death, while extending condolences and assistance to his family, including help with visa arrangements and liaison with Latvian police.
Nearly fourteen months on, the case remains a rallying point for Ghanaians concerned about the safety of citizens studying abroad and the transparency of foreign investigations into their deaths. For Nana Agyei’s mother, the demand has not wavered: a credible, independently reviewed account of what happened to her son, and accountability for whoever is responsible.
Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.
International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP
[email protected]
+233-555-275-880
References
GhanaWeb, “Family raise suspicion of foul play in death of 18-year-old Ghanaian student in Latvia,” 10 July 2025. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Family-raise-suspicion-of-foul-play-in-death-of-18-year-old-Ghanaian-student-in-Latvia-1991132
Ghanaian Times, “Family petitions Foreign Minister over Ghanaian student’s death in Latvia,” 29 August 2025. https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/family-petitions-foreign-minister-over-ghanaian-students-death-in-latvia/
GhanaWeb, “Foreign affairs ministry probes death of Ghanaian student in Latvia,” 18 December 2025. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Foreign-affairs-ministry-probes-death-of-Ghanaian-student-in-Latvia-2014439
Graphic Online, “Latvia responds to Ghana’s request over death of Ghanaian student,” 28 December 2025. https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/latvia-responds-to-ghanas-request-over-death-of-ghanaian-student.html
ModernGhana, “Ablakwa visits Latvia over alleged murder of Ghanaian student,” 23 December 2025. https://www.modernghana.com/news/1458826/ablakwa-visits-latvia-over-alleged-murder-of-ghana.html
Face2Face Africa, “Ghana seeks answers in disputed death of student in Latvia,” 2 January 2026. https://face2faceafrica.com/article/ghana-seeks-answers-nana-agyei-oduru-ahyia-death
GBC Ghana Online, “Foreign Minister in Latvia to probe death of Ghanaian student,” 3 February 2026. https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/general/minister-latvia-ablakwa/2026/
Diplomatic Times Online, “Latvia Interior Ministry supervising Nana Agyei’s investigation, new investigators appointed,” 19 February 2026. https://www.diplomatictimesonline.com/latvia-interior-ministry-supervising-nana-agyeis-investigation-new-investigators-appointed/
Ghanaian Times, “Ghana engages Latvian authorities over death of student,” 20 February 2026. https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/ghana-engages-latvian-authorities-over-death-of-student/
Riga Technical University, “The Ghanaian Student Was Not on University Premises at the Time of the Tragic Event,” 18 December 2025.
