Fahim Saleh’s family demands justice
The family of murdered Pathao co-founder Fahim Saleh urged New York police to find the "evil hitman" who dismembered him and fled the bloody scene.
Fahim Saleh's horrified sister found the 33-year-old headless and dismembered inside his Lower East Side apartment on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Daily News.
Saleh's family said in a statement, "The headlines talk about a crime we still cannot fathom.
"Fahim is more than what you are reading. He is so much more. His brilliant and innovative mind took everyone who was a part of his world on a journey and he made sure never to leave anyone behind.
"Fahim found success at an early age and built on it year after year, while remaining grounded and committed to helping others.
"No matter what he did, he did it while thinking of the greater good and his family. His parents and his sisters were his light and he was theirs.
"There are no words or actions to provide any of us comfort except the capture of the person who exhibited nothing short of evil upon our loved one."
A source told Daily News that the killer bolted via a staircase after Saleh's sister buzzed up to the apartment and got into the elevator.
The source said, "He was dressed like a ninja, full out, so you can’t even see his face.
"He clearly knew what he was doing. We think his intent was to get rid of the body parts and go back and clean it up and make it look like nothing happened. He left before he finished the job."
A law enforcement officer told the Daily Beast, "He looks like the Grim Reaper."
According to a floor plan of the apartment, there is a staircase exit - which is where the killer likely ran off.
The man's body was cut with a power saw, which authorities found at the scene plugged into an electrical outlet.
The motive of Saleh's murder appeared to be financial in nature, a senior NYPD official told NBC2 on Wednesday.
According to Saleh's LinkedIn, he is the CEO and founder of Gokada, a motorcycle ridesharing app in Lagos, Nigeria.
Friends dubbed the entrepreneur the "Elon Musk of the developing world," NBC reported.
Following his death, Saleh's former co-founder at Gokada, Deji Oduntan, tweeted, "I am utterly shocked and deeply saddened by the news of Fahim's death.
"Fahim was passionate about building our Ecosystem and left an indelible mark in it."
According to his LinkedIn profile, Oduntan was the Co-Found and CEO until March 2019.
Oduntan stepped down amid unconfirmed allegations of mismanagement, digital barker reported at the time.
Gokada raised $5.3 million in funding in May 2019, Techcrunch reported, and documents show the company filed a security offering of $1.7 million in June 2019.
However, in February of this year, the company laid off 75 per cent of its workforce following a ban on tricycles and bikes in Lagos, Benjamin Dada reported.
Following the ban, Saleh tweeted, "...we still have money in the bank and are pivoting towards deliveries while this transport ban gets sorted. We were due to make a profit in January before the ban was announced."
The CEO also uploaded a video to his YouTube channel titled "Gokada is not Okada."
During the video, Saleh said, "I was ok putting all my money in, all my effort in" before insisting "our priority is not how much money we're earning."
Saleh's friend, Sumeet Rametra, told the New York Times, "He was a machine, dude, he never stopped. He was always trying to make money."