Anxiety caused by racial tension is mounting among some Nigerians in a local community in Dundee, a city in Scotland, after a Zimbabwean woman, Fortune Gomo, 39, was fatally st@bbed on South Road Street on Saturday, July 5, 2025.
The black community, including Nigerians, in the predominantly white city, is apprehensive that the attack was racially motivated.
Some Nigerians told the Punch the incident had raised safety concerns for non-white residents of the city, especially the African community.
Reports indicated that the victim was walking on the street around 4:25 pm on Saturday when a random white man attacked her with a knife and seriously injured her.
A Nigerian resident, Adedayomi Peter, told the publication that the African community was particularly worried because nothing warranted the attack on the victim.
The incident has been ruled as a murder by the police in Scotland. They also disclosed that a 20-year-old man has been held in connection with the crime.
The unnamed suspect was billed to be formally arraigned in court on Monday, according to a statement by the police.
The police also disclosed that efforts were made by paramedics to save Gomo, but they were unsuccessful.
The statement disclosed that a post-mortem had been conducted and they were satisfied that the case was that of murder.
Scotland Police’s Detective Superintendent Peter Sharp, who is in charge of the investigation, commiserated with the family of the deceased.
He announced that the police had dispatched specialist officers to assist the family in their most trying period.
Sharp said he was convinced that the incident posed no wider risk to the public.
He appealed for calm, adding that he was aware of the tension building following the speculation spreading on social media.
The police officer promised that there would be a visibly increased police presence in the area to assure the residents of safety.
A prominent member of the Nigerian community in Dundee, who pleaded for anonymity, told the publication that Gomo’s death was a big loss to the wider African community.
He recalled that the victim was an alumnus of the University of Dundee, a colleague and friend to many Nigerians in the city.
The Nigerian said his compatriots decided to show support and solidarity for her death. He also re-echoed that the police in Scotland had assured them of safety following a roundtable meeting the African community had with them.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee, Prof Nigel Seaton, expressed his grief at the demise of Gomo, who he said was a postdoctoral research assistant in Geography until February 2022.
In a letter he sent to members of the university, the VC expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased.
