Nigerian woman missing in Qatar 72 hours after leaving airport, NCAA official says

A 37-year-old Nigerian woman remains missing in Doha 72 hours after airline CCTV reportedly showed her collecting her luggage and leaving the airport terminal.

Michael Achimugu, director of public affairs and consumer protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, said the woman travelled from Lagos on Qatar Airways flight QR1408. She contacted her brother on WhatsApp shortly before landing, but her family has not been able to reach her since.

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I have confirmed, via the airline, that CCTV shows your sister arrived safely, picked her bags, and exited the terminal.

Achimugu said the airline confirmed that she arrived safely, picked up her bags and exited the terminal. Further checks will establish whether she reached the hotel she booked before travelling and whether the hotel’s pickup vehicle collected her. Public holidays have slowed the checks, he said.

He added that every Qatar visa booking must be linked to a hotel reservation. Discover Qatar will verify the hotel name and check whether the woman arrived there. “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,” Achimugu said.

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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.

Achimugu said he had alerted the airline to concerns about possible human trafficking and forced labour. “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 said. He stressed that the case was not within his official remit and that he was helping the family.

The woman’s brother, Jonathan Jibo, said on X that she was visiting Doha for the first time, had no friends there and had accommodation arranged and paid for months before the trip. He said an assigned airport pickup driver waited for her but could not find her, despite the airline confirming that she had collected her luggage. The woman had worked at Lagos airport for nearly 12 years and was expected to begin work in Doha weeks after arriving.

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If she did not arrive at the hotel, a manhunt would ensue. It is easy to track people once they have arrived in Doha.