In a recent interview conducted by Biodun Busari for Punch Newspaper, Lagos businessman Onyema Ekpenyong said he wants justice after his elder brother, Andrew Ekpenyong, was found dead in a South African mortuary.
Andrew, a mechanic from Akwa Ibom State, moved to South Africa in 2007 after his Abuja workshop was demolished during Nasir El-Rufai’s time as FCT minister. He lived there for nearly 20 years with his wife, two children, girlfriend, and apprentice.
Onyema said Andrew got a call on Sunday evening, left home, and never came back. That night, South African police searched his house but found nothing wrong. The next morning, the Nigerian community in South Africa was directed to a government mortuary where they identified Andrew’s body.
Police said he died after falling while jogging. But people who saw the body said it had handcuff marks and injuries that looked like he was beaten. Andrew’s girlfriend and apprentice were in the house when police came. The girlfriend said she did not open the door for them, and his car was found back in the compound the next day.
The Nigerian community later moved Andrew’s body to a private mortuary. No one has been arrested, and Onyema said authorities only told him “the government is on it.”
The Nigerian community in South Africa has asked for a full investigation and autopsy. Onyema is appealing to both the Nigerian and South African governments to help bring his brother’s body home for burial and to find those responsible.
Onyema said Andrew never had problems with anyone in South Africa and was planning to return to Nigeria in December 2026 after selling two cars he repaired. His mother in Nigeria is devastated by the news.
He also said xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa are still a problem and urged the Nigerian government to step in. He has spoken with Andrew’s wife and children, but the family has not decided what to do next.