The family of an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Barrister Nwamaka Chigbo, has narrated the harrowing final moments before she was abducted and murdered by suspected one-chance criminals in the Federal Capital Territory.
A Grisly Discovery on Kubwa Expressway
The tragic sequence of events culminated on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, when the lawyer's body was found abandoned along the Kubwa Expressway. Her bag was discovered a short distance away, a chilling signature of one-chance attacks where victims are robbed, assaulted, and often thrown from moving vehicles.
In a statement released by Dr. Maureen Chigbo, Publisher of Realnews Magazine and the victim's elder sister, the family expressed profound shock and grief. The statement confirmed the brutal death of Princess Nwamaka Mediatrix Chigbo at the hands of unidentified kidnappers on Monday, January 5, 2026.
The Final Phone Call and a N3 Million Ransom Demand
The ordeal began while Barrister Nwamaka was on a phone call with her sister, Anthonia. Anthonia briefly paused the conversation to attend to a client. When she returned, the line was still active, but she could only hear her sister's distressed cries before the call suddenly went dead and unreachable.
Alarmed, Anthonia alerted the family, who began frantically calling Nwamaka's number. When a call finally connected, a male voice, cursing in both English and Hausa, issued a deadly ultimatum: "Thunder fire you there, send three million Naira or else we will kill her." The captors provided no payment details and cut off all subsequent calls.
The kidnappers never initiated contact. In a heart-wrenching moment, when family members managed to get through again seeking clarification on the ransom, they were met only with the lawyer's agonizing screams. "I am dying. …save me, please send the money, I am dying," she was heard pleading before the line went permanently silent.
Police Engagement and a Failed Rescue
The Chigbo family immediately engaged security agencies. They contacted the FCT Police Public Relations Officer and sent distress messages to the Inspector General of Police and the FCT Police Commissioner. The Commissioner linked them with the Commander of the Scorpion Squad, the unit handling kidnapping cases in Abuja.
The Commander assured the family that police were tracking the kidnappers, who were "in motion and would likely drop the lawyer off once they might have collected the ransom." The family maintained vigil with the Commander throughout Monday night.
By 4 a.m. on Tuesday, January 6, when Dr. Maureen Chigbo called for an update, the Commander expressed surprise that Nwamaka had not been released. He promised to escalate efforts. Later, he informed the family that a critically injured woman had been found and taken to a specialist hospital, requesting a photo for identification.
Dr. Maureen Chigbo flew from Lagos to Abuja, only to find her sister's lifeless body in the hospital mortuary, bearing bruises, swollen eyes, and a cracked skull—clear evidence of a tortured death.
The late Nwamaka Chigbo was an active member and former treasurer of the Nigerian Bar Association (Abuja branch) and a member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (IFWL). The family has met with police authorities, who have promised a thorough investigation to apprehend the culprits.
