by ‘Jola Sotubo

The Nigerian community in Abidjan has been left in shock by the death of one of their own. Queen Ebimaho, was last week found in a pool of blood inside a brothel in Ajame, Abidjan, cote d’ivoire.

The incident has left other Nigerians in the city afraid for their lives as other members of the community said that the girl had just arrived Abidjan two months earlier.

According to reports, Ebimaho’s corpse had a series of punctures. She is said to have been brought into the country by a Nigerian lady identified as Joy Larry.

Many Nigerian girls who are regularly trafficked into the country take to prostitution as a means of survival.

Although no case of death has occurred in the past six months, many of the girls face undue harassment and intimidation from men who patronize them.

Meanwhile some Nigerians residing in Ajame who spoke to journalists have accused the Consular Officer in the Nigerian Embassy, Mr Obinna Ogbonna of treating issues concerning Ebimaho’s death with levity.

They accused the consular officer of failing to make official report to the relevant authorities in the host country to ensure adequate investigations into the cause of the dead.

According to them, the embassy also refused to play any role in the burial of the dead Nigerian in spite of repeated calls on the consular officer.

When contacted, Ogbonna confirmed the dead of the Nigerian, saying: “she died from injuries that looked like stabs from a yet to be identified person

“We took the matter officially to the Ivorian police and we were told that she was stabbed.

“But the girl in question has no consular card, our investigations show that she is just about two months old in the country,’’ he said.

He said the corpse was taken for burial by a Nigerian identified as Osas, who also resides in Ajame without any official information to the embassy.