Irish police investigation into a vicious attack on a Nigerian taxi driver which left him in a coma was upgraded to a murder probe Thursday after he lost his fight to survive.

Moses Ayanwole (41), married with a 12-year-old son, died in St James’s Hospital in Dublin Thursday. Mr Ayanwole, originally from South West Nigeria, was living in Hartstown, west Dublin.

He was working in the city centre at about 12.30am on Monday when he was attacked. He was punched in the head by a man in his taxi and fell heavily to the ground as his taxi was parked on Pearse Street near the Erne Street junction.

Ayanwole fell into a coma and doctors in St James’s Hospital decided not to transfer him to Beaumont Hospital, which specializes in head injuries, because of the seriousness of his injuries.

A police hunt got under way after the attack and officers arrested the prime suspect, who is in his mid-20s, for the attack about 8pm on Monday. He was tracked down to a pub just yards from the scene of the attack but was released without charge on Tuesday. A file is being prepared for the DPP.

groundbreaking.