Alleged Lagos robbery and stabbing: inDrive says victim did not book ride on its app

inDrive, a leading ride-hailing company in Lagos, has denied responsibility for a lady, Akusionwu Ogechukwu Pascaline who was robbed and stabbed by a driver in Lagos. According to the ride-hailing company, despite reports linking the driver to its app, the lady did not book the ride on their platform.

The company disclosed this in response to a Technext query into several incidents of assault, harassment and unprofessionalism linked to drivers operating on its platform.

When asked about the specific incident and why the driver is yet to be identified after all this time, a company spokesperson told Technext that the ride did not occur on its platform.

“After a thorough investigation, we can confirm that the ride did not occur on the inDrive platform. All rides scheduled for that day were cancelled, and no contact was made with the drivers whose rides were impacted,” the spokesperson told this reporter.

See also: “We helped drivers survive January”- inDrive responds to ridiculously low fares accusation

Lady reportedly assaulted during inDrive ride

Earlier in the week, reports made the round about the attack of a lady, Pascaline, by an inDrive driver shortly after she closed from work at 2 am. The ride which was supposed to take her from ShopRite in Lekki to her Greenland Estate residence in the same town, turned into a terrible nightmare.

Narrating her ordeal in a video seen by this reporter, the victim said upon leaving her place of work, she noticed that the driver took a different route from the one that led to her destination.

“He supposed to turn at the roundabout to come out. Instead, he went through Monastery Road. I wanted to wind down and noticed that the buttons for winding down and opening the door were not working. So I asked him ‘Where are you going?’ He now parked by the side brought out a knife, collected my iPhone 13 Pro Max, collected my Samsung A20, my Apple watch, my wig, my handbag, slippers, Airpods, my money and ATM card,” she said.

It did not end there as her assailant then asked for her Samsung phone password. When she told him it only opens via Face ID, he asked her to open it. While she was trying to open it, he stabbed her in the face and the thigh before dumping her on the street.

She said she was rescued by a bike man who helped her to the estate gate. She was then rushed to the hospital by neighbours as she was bleeding profusely.

Reacting to the incident, the Lagos State Chairman of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), Comrade Jaiyesimi Azeez assured the lady that the culprit will be apprehended as several security organisations have been made aware of the matter.

“I am here to visit the lady that requested on inDrive. The driver came, robbed her and stabbed her. In fact, the guy thought he had killed her and dumped her body. If not for neighbours and the bikeman who came to her rescue. For the fact that someone could register on an app to perpetuate such an evil act on this innocent soul, she needs justice. The DSS are already involved, the police are involved and the state government is also involved,” he said.

The app, inDrive, has distanced itself from the incident insisting it didn’t take place on its platform. The company also restated that it takes security seriously and adheres to regulatory requirements, implementing industry-standard onboarding and verification procedures.

“Drivers undergo regular photo controls to ensure their details match their initial registration, helping to verify their identity and improve the documentation process. Additionally, we leverage advanced technologies like machine learning for driver onboarding. We remain committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all users,” the company said.