Anu Okusanya, a Nigerian woman who was a Northern Ireland resident, died while trying to escape from an assault on another person in August.

Multiple sources have said that Okusanya had witnessed a hate crime and fled the scene.

According to a BBC report, Okusanya died in a hospital on August 28 after she saw an assault on another person close to her home in Newry, County Down.

According to Okusanya’s family, she fled as she had also been a victim of two prior attacks in the same area.

“She ran to a neighbour’s house just to take cover and the door was opened to her. As she came in, she couldn’t say anything, she was gasping for breath,” Gbenga Oluwasanya, Okusanya’s brother, said.

“And while that was happening, the police came and they saw her struggling, and they advised her to use her inhaler because she’s asthmatic.

“She had two puffs of her inhaler, sat down, and she just slumped.”

Oluwasanya explained that his sister had suffered an attack in June when a boy threw liquid over her while walking in the street.

Oluwasanya also said a gang once followed Okusanya to her home, banging on her door while “terrorising her.” He also mentioned that his sister had reported both attacks to the police.

Okusanya and others like her who belong to minor ethnicities have been living in constant fear as UK anti-immigrant attacks have increased since August.

Statistics by the Guardian UK have shown that hate crimes in Northern Ireland have risen by a third between September 2023 and September 2024.

FIJ