The high flying founder of Lagos bike hailing ride startup GOKADA was found dead in his New York apartment, gruesomely murdered in what authorities see as a hit where his limbless, headless torso was found inside his swanky Manhattan condo with an electric saw lying next to the remains. Saleh, 33, a website developer turned venture capitalist until his death was the CEO of GOKADA, a motorcycle-sharing company in Lagos, Nigeria.

The discovery was made in a building on E. Houston St. at Suffolk St. on the Lower East side which the entrepreneur reportedly bought for about $2.25 million last year. The New York Police Department (NYPD) was quoted as saying that  all of the body parts were found at the scene but declined to give specifics on where. “We have a torso, a head that’s been removed, arms, and legs. Everything is still on the scene. We don’t have a motive,” the statement said.

Read also : https://afrikanheroes.com/2020/07/15/ceo-of-nigerian-startup-gokada-murdered-in-his-new-york-home/

Detectives were waiting for fingerprint and forensics tests on the body, police sources said. The NYPD went to the seventh-floor condo after the victim’s sister called 911. She came calling Tuesday because she hadn’t seen her brother in a day, then discovered his dismembered corpse, an NYPD spokesman said.

An elevator surveillance camera may have caught the victim’s last moments as it shows the victim getting into the elevator Monday, followed quickly by a second man, dressed in a suit, wearing gloves, a hat and a mask over his face. Saleh has described his history as an entrepreneur in a series of posts on Medium.com. He got his start creating a prank calling website, then moved on to create a motorcycle taxi company in his parents’ native Bangladesh.

Read also : https://afrikanheroes.com/2020/05/30/startups-are-invited-to-apply-to-the-lagos-urban-innovation-challenge/

It could be recalled that prior to the ban of GOKADA in Lagos following the government’s ban on bike hailing rides by the state government leading to the company enmeshed in a lot of backlash and mass layoffs. This led to speculations that the firm which raised close to $20 million to fund its expansion before the clampdown is in a mess.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry