Nigeria's Gokada founder murdered in New York

Fahim Saleh, the founder of Gokada, one of Nigeria’s ride-hailing motorcycle services, has been found murdered in a Manhattan apartment by the police in the US city of New York.

The body was reportedly found by his sister on Tuesday.

A New York Police Department spokesperson said the body had been decapitated and dismembered, while an electric saw was found in the vicinity.

The reaction of the tech world in Nigeria has been one of shock as his company broke the news of his death on its Twitter page

Mr Saleh opened Gokada in the commercial hub of Lagos, in 2018, adding to the digitalisation of the city’s motorcycle shuttle business.

The startup raised $5.3m (£4.2m) in venture capital in June 2019.

Mr Saleh reacted strongly, via a video in February 2020, as the Lagos State government restricted the operation of motorcycle ride-share services in major parts of the city.

The policy forced his company to convert its fleet of motorcycles to use for logistics services.

We are deeply saddened to inform you about the sudden and tragic loss of our founder and CEO, Fahim Saleh. Fahim was a great leader, inspiration and positive light for all of us.

— Gokada - We do delivery now (@GokadaNG) July 15, 2020