A NIGERIAN man, Chiowa Obeigbe, living in the United Kingdom (UK), has reportedly been found dead in his Gloucester apartment.
This was revealed on Monday by a fellow UK-based Nigerian, Benjamin Kuti, known as Oluomo of Derby. He explained that Obeigbe was not discovered for five days.
“This young man, Chiowa Obeigbe, sadly passed away in his home in Gloucester, UK, and was not discovered for five days.
“At the moment, no one knows his relatives or has been able to reach his family. He is said to be from Imo State, Nigeria,” Kuti wrote.
Kuti, whose X bio describes him as the “founder of the Nigerian community in the United Kingdom on Twitter,” posted a photo of Obeigbe’s driving licence and called on well-meaning Nigerians to help contact the deceased family.
“If anyone recognises him or has any information about his family, please help us get in touch with them, or please send me a DM so arrangements can be made to return his body home.”
This incident comes less than 48 hours after a similar case involving a Nigerian truck driver in the United States, Bode Ologan, who was reportedly found dead inside his truck in Arlington, Texas.
Ologan’s case was reported on Sunday via a post on the Lagos Reporters Facebook page. The report also included the deceased driver’s licence and appealed to the public for help to locate his family.
“Kindly help find out if anybody knows this guy’s family or his family. They found him dead inside the truck in Texas,” the post read.
The latest incident adds to the list of Nigerians that have died in diaspora this year.
The ICIR reported in May that a nurse residing in Leeds, United Kingdom, Nnena Miriam, was found dead in her apartment.
The news was confirmed in a statement released by Fellow Nurses Africa, an organisation committed to promoting the nursing profession in Africa.
It revealed that police discovered Miriam’s body following a missing person report.
A week later, Nigeria recorded another tragic death of one of its citizens abroad, as 23-year-old student nurse, Elizabeth Tamilore Odunsi, was stabbed to death in Texas, United States, just two days before her graduation.
The ICIR reported in August that the Metropolitan Police arrested and charged two suspects to court in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 26-year-old Nigerian, Ayowale Aladejana, in New Cross, southeast London.
A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder shortly after the incident, with a 23-year-old woman taken into custody.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.