A disturbing incident involving a ride-hailing service in Abuja has raised fresh concerns about passenger safety, after a driver allegedly ignored Uber’s mandatory safety features, threatened a passenger, and sped off with her belongings.
Ama Ngozi (real name withheld), a team member at the Gatefield Caustival arts and film festival, recounted how a ride she ordered through Uber in the early hours of Friday took a troubling turn. According to Ngozi, the driver failed to initiate the trip on the app and ignored the PIN verification process, which is required to ensure riders are matched with the correct vehicle.
Despite her reminders, the driver became hostile.
“I asked why he hadn’t started the trip or used the PIN, but instead of responding appropriately, he got upset and threatened to [mess] me up,” Ngozi told Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
Ngozi was not alone during the ride—her supervisor and boss were also in the car—but she feared what might have happened had she been by herself.
According to her, the driver, identified in an X (formerly Twitter) post as “Akurokokia,” was driving a black Honda Accord. The vehicle had been ordered to transport the team as they worked late into the night preparing for the Caustival event.
“I noticed something was off when I saw the PIN still showing on my app, meaning it hadn’t been verified. I called it out when I entered the car, but he must have pretended to input it,” Ngozi said.
Realising the trip hadn’t been started on the app either, she confronted the driver, only for him to dismissively ask, “Is it not just here you’re going?” and raise his voice.
When they finally reached their destination, the driver—still having not started the ride—was unaware they had arrived. Ngozi asked him to open the trunk so she could retrieve her belongings, but before she could finish unloading, the driver sped off, leaving her in shock.
“I kept thinking, ‘What if I had been alone?’” she said.
Despite reporting the incident to Uber immediately, Ngozi said the company’s response was inadequate. She received only a generic message promising a follow-up. As of Saturday night, over 24 hours after the incident, she had yet to hear from a representative, and her items remained missing.
Uber’s only response so far, she said, was to assure her they would limit her chances of being matched with the same driver in the future—an assurance she found wholly insufficient.
“I was so shaken. This is a service marketed as safe and reliable, especially for women. Yet, I was made to feel vulnerable and completely disregarded,” she said.
Ngozi said some of the items still in the driver’s boot were needed for the festival and expressed disappointment at Uber’s apparent lack of urgency or accountability.
“This is the same pattern of impunity we see every day—no consequences, no accountability. As a woman, you’re left to fend for yourself, even with systems that claim to prioritise your safety,” she added.
Following a public outcry, including a post from media platform GST that went viral, Uber responded on X, saying, “We are here to help. We have responded to your DM!” But hours later, GST called them out again for not taking the issue seriously.
“You have been giving generic responses to our requests without taking this matter seriously. Fix this!” GST tweeted.
As of the time of this report, Uber has not issued an official statement in response to multiple media enquiries.
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