Disappearance of Charity Aiyedogbon

Charity was a businesswoman who owned a joint venture called Chavid Limited (a combination of her name “Charity” and her husband’s name “David”), which consisted of a fashion-design business and a restaurant, also located in Abuja. The business also bloomed to the extent that she had trainees under her supervision. She was a mother of four children. At the time of her disappearance, she was estranged from her husband of 15 years, David Aiyedogbon, and was living in a rented apartment.

Besides her business activities, Charity was also active on Facebook prior to her disappearance. She was popularly known by the name "Deepdeal Chacha De Hammer". Charity was a member of a Facebook group "FEMALE IN NIGERIA" (FIN). She was also active in the group to the extent that she became comfortable enough to reveal details of her private life to members of the group. As she chronicled her travails - which by her account included black magic, alleged assassination attempts on her by her husband, separations and arrests - the women of the group sent virtual hugs, kisses and empathetic messages to her. There has been speculation that she made herself vulnerable to predators in the group by revealing her "secrets". This group consisted of about 40,000 members. Charity also regularly updated her Facebook page. According to information from her Facebook friends, her last known update on social media was made on 11 May 2016 in the form of a photograph of herself sitting in a vehicle with the words: “going on a road trip” at about 9.11am.

It became apparent that Charity had previously received threats to her safety from some undisclosed individuals in the days before her disappearance. Her friends revealed that the threats prompted her to contract a technician to install CCTV cameras in her apartment. After her disappearance, all attempts to contact her though her mobile phone were unsuccessful.

Charity's case was reported to the Gwarimpa Police Division in Abuja. Investigators gained access into her Abuja apartment with the help of her landlady and some security personnel. Further investigations revealed that there was no indication that she had planned to go on any trip, as she had no bag packed and every item in her apartment was in order. A pot of stew was still on the cooker after she had left the house. Investigative efforts to retrieve her call logs revealed that the last call from her phone was made on 9 May, to a number registered to an individual named Rabi Mohammed. The last received call from another number showed the same date. The Federal Capital Territory Police Command arrested some suspects in connection with her disappearance (who were later released), while her vehicle and two mobile phones were recovered.

A Nigerian lawyer, Emeka Ugwonye, accused Charity's estranged husband David of being involved in her disappearance. However, no concrete evidence could be found to implicate him. David later sued the lawyer for defamation. Some have gone on further to question the professionalism and claims of the lawyer.

Charity's eldest daughter, Juliet, received a backlash on social media for planning to proceed with her wedding while her mother was recently declared missing. However, the wedding was postponed indefinitely as a result of further controversy following Ugwuonye’s claims about her missing mother.

Various support groups have emerged to bring justice for Charity. The dismembered corpse of an unidentified woman discovered in Abuja was rumoured to belong to Charity. However, no DNA test has been conducted by the police to confirm her identity. To date, no conclusion has been drawn regarding the dismembered body.

Controversies have followed Charity's case, which have further blurred the lines between reality, fact and speculation.

Charity is still declared missing.