Operatives attached to the Nigerian Police Force, are investigating the death of a Nigerian transgender TikToker popularly known as “Abuja Area Mama”.
The beaten and bruised body of 33-year-old transgender woman was found along a highway in the Nation’s capital, Abuja, on Thursday.
Abuja Area Mama had a loyal fan base on social media, where she posted about being transgender and her life as a sex worker. She never used her full name, referring to herself sometimes as Ifeanyi.
Nigeria is a deeply conservative society and people who step outside the norms are often targeted.
In her last post on Instagram on Wednesday, Abuja Area Mama had said she was getting ready to go and see her boyfriend.
Hours later, her body was found along Katampe – Mabushi expressway in the Banex, Wuse II area of Abuja, in what is suspected to be a murder incident.
A team of detectives visited the scene on Thursday morning and “preliminary investigations revealed that the individual was a man fully dressed in female clothing with no means of identification on him”, a police statement said.
Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, Bennett Igweh has since ordered a “thorough and discreet” investigation into the death.
Last September, the TikToker said she had been stabbed by an unidentified person in what were unclear circumstances.
On her TikTok profile, she described herself as “the number one Abuja cross-dresser and queen of the street”.
She said her posts were intended to be a reflection of her life and educate her followers.
The Murder
A police source disclosed that preliminary investigations carried out by the detectives revealed that the individual was a man fully dressed in female clothing with no means of identification on him.
The source said, “In response to a distress call received by the Command Control Room on 08/08/2024 at about 07:40 AM, that an unidentified lady was seen lying motionless along Katampe – Mabushi expressway, a team of detectives were immediately dispatched to the scene.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the individual was a man fully dressed in female clothing with no means of identification on him. He was immediately taken to Maitama District Hospital where Doctors on duty confirmed him dead. “
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