Uber has said a driver, Yinka Makinde, arraigned by the Nigeria Police for alleged armed robbery, is not on its register.
Uber, in an email to The Eagle Online on Tuesday, said after going through its register, the 38-year-old driver, who dispossessed on Favour Eneregbu at gunpoint, did not exist.
Makinde committed the offence on September 30 at about 9pm at Posh Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
However, in the email to The Eagle Online, Uber, through its PR agency, JNPR, said Makinde does not exist on its register.
The mail by JNPR said: “We came across your article titled Uber driver arraigned over alleged armed robbery written by Hassan where he mentioned that the police tried a 38-year-old Uber driver, Yinka Makinde, before an Ogudu Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State, over alleged armed robbery.
“I would like to mention Uber looked into the driver named Yinka Makinde and can confirm that he is not an active driver on the app meaning he has never taken any trips with Uber and therefore this incident is not related to Uber and we kindly ask that Uber’s name be removed from the article.”
There have been cases of drivers claiming to work for Uber who have been nailed for crime.
This has led to the ride hailing company warning riders to pay attention to details on their application vis-a-vis the vehicle number plate, telephone number of drivers and others to avoid falling into the wrong hands.
Makinde’s case appears to be one of them, a police source told The Eagle Online.