“They asked for ₦3 million or they would kill her” – Family recounts final hours of Abuja lawyer killed by one-chance robbers
Fresh details have emerged surrounding the killing of Abuja-based lawyer Princess Nwamaka Mediatrix Chigbo, with her family revealing that her abductors demanded a ₦3 million ransom shortly before they killed her.
Chigbo’s lifeless body was discovered in the early hours of Tuesday, January 6, 2026, along the Kubwa Expressway, a corridor notorious for attacks by so-called one-chance criminals who abduct unsuspecting commuters.
According to a statement released by Dr. Maureen Chigbo, publisher of Realnews Magazine and elder sister of the deceased, the ordeal began while the lawyer was on the phone with her younger sister, Anthonia.
The call briefly went silent when Anthonia stepped away to attend to a client, but when she returned, the line was still open.
Moments later, she reportedly heard her sister cry out in distress before the call abruptly ended.
Repeated attempts by family members to reach Chigbo failed until a call eventually connected.
A male voice, speaking in English and Hausa, allegedly issued a chilling ultimatum: ₦3 million must be paid or she would be killed.
The caller reportedly hurled insults and ended the call without giving instructions on how the ransom would be delivered.
The family immediately alerted the police and escalated the matter to senior officers, including the FCT Commissioner of Police and the anti-kidnapping Scorpion Squad. They were informed that the suspects were being tracked and were “in motion.”
Despite this assurance, the abductors never made further contact. When family members managed to call back, they reportedly heard Chigbo screaming in pain, pleading for help, before the phone went dead for the final time.
By dawn, police informed the family that a woman in critical condition had been found and taken to a specialist hospital. Upon arrival from Lagos, Maureen Chigbo identified her sister’s body in the mortuary.
The family said she bore clear signs of severe physical assault.
Chigbo was a respected legal practitioner, former treasurer of the Nigerian Bar Association (Abuja Branch), and an active member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA).
Her killing has reignited public outrage over the unchecked menace of one-chance criminal gangs in Abuja, with renewed calls for decisive security action along major commuter routes.
Read Also: Lagos one-chance robbers clear lady’s account of N8.5m
