NCAA Official Probes Nigerian Woman's Disappearance Post-Doha Airport Exit

Mr. Michael Achimugu, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), is actively working to ascertain the whereabouts of a 37-year-old Nigerian lady who has been uncontactable since her arrival in Doha, Qatar. The woman, who departed Lagos for Doha via Qatar Airways flight QR1408 on Tuesday, reportedly lost touch with her family shortly after sending a WhatsApp message to her brother just before her flight touched down.

Achimugu confirmed on Saturday that the airline's CCTV footage verifies the woman's safe arrival in Doha. The footage shows her collecting her luggage and then exiting the airport terminal. “I have confirmed, via the airline, that CCTV shows your sister arrived safely, picked her bags, and exited the terminal,” Achimugu stated. He further indicated that additional inquiries would be made to determine if she subsequently reached the hotel she had reserved prior to her journey. These checks, he noted, have faced delays due to public holidays but are expected to clarify whether she arrived at the hotel and if she utilized the hotel's designated pick-up service.

According to Achimugu, every Qatar visa booking mandates a linked hotel reservation. Discover Qatar will be tasked with identifying the specific hotel and confirming if the woman successfully checked in. He explained, “In some cases, passengers arrive at the hotel booked, and then leave quietly. DISCOVER QATAR will check to confirm the name of her hotel, and whether your sister did, indeed, get to the hotel.” The NCAA official also disclosed that he has communicated concerns regarding potential human trafficking and forced labour to the airline, emphasizing that confirmation from the hotel would be crucial in determining the subsequent course of action. “If she did not arrive at the hotel, a manhunt would ensue. It is easy to track people once they have arrived in Doha,” he added.

Achimugu, however, clarified that while he is assisting the family, the matter does not fall within his official duties. The woman's brother, Jonathan Jibo (also known as #DigitalworldB), first brought the incident to public attention on Friday through a post on X, expressing alarm that over 48 hours had passed since he last communicated with his sister. Jibo mentioned that this was his sister's inaugural trip to Doha, where she had no acquaintances, and her accommodation had been pre-arranged and paid for months in advance. He recounted that the individual assigned to pick her up at the airport waited but could not locate her, despite the airline confirming she had retrieved her luggage. Jibo also noted that his sister had worked at Lagos airport for nearly 12 years and was scheduled to commence new employment in Doha weeks after her arrival. He expressed his distress, writing, “Till now I can’t reach her phone, online, I don’t even know what went wrong.” He implored the Nigerian Embassy in Doha and other relevant authorities for assistance in locating her.

In a subsequent update on Saturday, Jibo confirmed that his sister’s details had been passed on to the Nigerian President in Doha and subsequently to the Nigerian Embassy in Qatar. The family is now anticipating an update from the embassy on Monday, as the embassy does not operate during weekends. The family awaits the findings of these checks to confirm if the woman reached her booked hotel and to understand what transpired after she exited the airport terminal.