D3composed B0dy Found in Car Parked Outside National Assembly Complex in Abuja
A grim discovery has unsettled Nigeria’s National Assembly Complex in Abuja after a d3composed b0dy was found inside a parked car near the annex gate on Sunday, September 7. The deceased has been identified as 55-year-old Gaddafi Iwar, a labourer said to have been working at a construction site within the premises before his de@th.
The red Peugeot 406 with registration number BWR-577 BF had reportedly been parked in the same spot for days before security personnel were alerted to a strong odor emanating from it. When the vehicle was opened at about 9:00 a.m., Iwar’s lifeless body was found inside.
The discovery was first reported by security analyst Zagazola Makama, who cited multiple sources within the National Assembly.
“The stench was unbearable. At first, nobody could go near the car,” one security guard said.
The body was evacuated to the National Assembly Clinic for medical confirmation, but officials there declined to admit it due to the advanced stage of decomposition. It was later transferred to Asokoro General Hospital, where it was also rejected. Eventually, members of the Tiv community and youth leaders familiar with the deceased transported the remains to Gbawu Village, on the border between Abuja Municipal Area Council and Kuje Area Council, for burial.
Little is known about Iwar beyond his work as a daily labourer. Colleagues at the construction site described him as a quiet man trying to earn a living. Investigators are still working to determine how he ended up in the car and whether the vehicle belonged to him.
The incident has sparked serious concern about security at the National Assembly. Despite being one of the most heavily guarded zones in the country, a decomposed corpse managed to remain undetected inside a parked car for days. Civil society groups and security experts have called it a major lapse.
“If a decomposed corpse could remain inside the National Assembly unnoticed, what does that say about the level of alertness of those tasked with securing our lawmakers? Imagine if it had been an explosive device instead of a body,” said Victoria Nwosu of the Centre for Public Security.
Attempts to obtain official responses from the authorities have so far been unsuccessful. Calls to Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, were unanswered, and messages went without reply. Repeated efforts to reach Josephine Adeh, spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, also yielded no results.
Health experts warn that a decomposing body in a public space poses biohazard risks. Abuja-based epidemiologist Dr. Ahmed Suleiman explained that fluids and gases released during decomposition can create health hazards in hot weather, especially in crowded environments.
The unusual case has been compared with other incidents in which decomposing bodies went unnoticed in Nigerian cities. In 2014, several bodies were discovered in an abandoned building in Ibadan, sparking fears of ritual killings. In 2018, a man was found dead inside a car at a Lagos shopping mall after several days. In 2022, the bodies of missing persons were discovered near an uncompleted building in Port Harcourt. But never before has such an incident been recorded within the National Assembly Complex itself.
The situation has left many questions unanswered. How long had the car been parked before it was noticed? Who owns the Peugeot? How could the body remain undetected despite routine checks? Until security agencies and Assembly authorities provide answers, speculation will continue.
In the end, it was Iwar’s community, not the government, that took responsibility for his burial. Tiv youth leaders said they acted quickly to prevent health hazards and to ensure their kinsman was laid to rest with dignity.
The case of Gaddafi Iwar now stands as a stark reminder of institutional lapses in security and emergency response at the very center of Nigeria’s democracy.