Cab Driver Found Dead 48 Hours After Going Missing In Abuja

The body of a cab driver identified as Mathew Okafor, killed on Monday, June 21, 2021, by suspected carjackers in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, has been found.

According to a report by The Punch, Okafor’s corpse was found around the Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory.

Sources said that the services of the driver were required by the armed gang pretending to be passengers on Monday before he was stabbed many times by his attackers who made away with his car.

It was also disclosed that the victim had called his wife, who had recently delivered a baby, at about 6 p.m. WAT that day to inform her that he would be returning home soon.

That was the last time the wife and other family members heard from him as his phone was not answered when they tried to contact  him.

“We don’t know when he died but he went missing last Monday. Around 6 p.m. He called his wife and said that he would soon be home. His wife kept calling his line till the following day. His mobile rang out many times but no one picked the calls,” a family source was reported as saying. 

“She communicated with family members and we searched for him but we were unable to get a clue on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, we approached the cab-hailing firm who said his last movement was around the Airport Road axis. We went there and didn’t find anything. We went to the police station there to make a complaint. A police officer said he overheard some commercial motorcyclists talk about a corpse.”

 “We, alongside some police officers, went to check if it was Okafor. We found him in the pool of his own blood.  He was stabbed on different parts of his body. We buried him on Wednesday,” he added.

The source noted that before his body was discovered, Okafor’s wife said the robbers used his phone to demand money, claiming that he drank himself to a stupor and was owing.

He added, “On Wednesday, the wife told us that they called her with Okafor’s line. They said he drank himself to stupor and was being detained for owing. They told the wife to send some money so that he could be freed. It was not as if he was kidnapped. They did that to get more money alongside the car. The wife, who was recently delivered of a baby, has been inconsolable.’’

HumAngle however tried to contact the police but was not successful, but according to The Punch, Mariam Yusuf, the spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, who  confirmed the incident  said the command was investigating the matter.