Members of the Nigerian community in Raleigh, North Carolina are mourning the shooting death on November 8, 2016 of Cyril Efobi, a long time resident of the city who worked as a taxicab driver.
On the day of his fatal shooting, Mr. Efobi closed early in the evening in order to go home and watch the US presidential election. After exchanging banters with some colleagues at the taxi company office, he packed up his laptop and stepped out of the office. A few minutes later, one of his colleagues sitting near a television heard gunshots outside the building. He panicked and quickly called the police. Within a few minutes, police vehicles arrived at the neighborhood located southeast of Raleigh. Once he saw the blue lights from police vehicles in the parking lot, Mr. Efobi’s colleague rushed to the door, but as he pushed it, Mr. Efobi’s felled body pushed back. Finally forcing the door outward, the colleague saw Mr. Efobi’s body in a heap, in a pool of his own blood. Raleigh police officers who responded to the emergency call pronounced Mr. Efobi dead at the scene from gunshot wounds. He was 56.
The surveillance camera caught the alleged gunman during and after the attack. Raleigh police are still investigating.
Mr. Efobi moved from Nigeria to Raleigh about 30 years ago to further his education. He graduated from Shaw University and made Raleigh his permanent home. Our correspondent could not ascertain whether the deceased, who lived alone, ever visited Nigeria again before his death. Friends said he had no wife or children and lived alone.
Two weeks after his murder, the Nigerian community held a candlelight vigil in front of the office where Mr. Efobi was gunned down. Members of the Nigerian community in Raleigh are making plans to raise funds to return Mr. Efobi’s remains to his natal community in Nigeria for burial.
Days after the gruesome murder, police released images of the suspected shooter from a surveillance camera. No arrests have been made.
