Princess Nwamaka Mediatrix Chigbo, an Abuja-based lawyer, has been killed by still-to-be-identified kidnappers in the Federal Capital Territory on Monday, January 5, 2026.
Before her abduction, Nwamaka was on the phone with her sister, Anthonia, who briefly interrupted the call to attend to a client. When she reverted, Nwamaka’s phone was still live, and Anthonia could hear her distress cry before the phone suddenly went dead and unreachable.
Anthonia alerted her elder sister, Maureen Chigbo, and other family members, who called her (Nwamaka) number repeatedly to reach her or her abductors to no avail.
When a call finally went through, a male voice rained curses in English and Hausa language, saying: “Thunder fire you there, send N3 million or else we will kill her.” The captors gave no further details and abruptly terminated subsequent calls.
Barrister Nwamaka’s family later tried to contact the Police Force Public Relations Officer and left a text message on her phone. They were referred to two police complaint numbers.
The family equally sent a distress text and WhatsApp message to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and also contacted the FCT Police Commissioner, who immediately linked them up to the Commander of the Scorpion Squad, in charge of kidnapping in Abuja.
The Commander later called to inform the family that the police were tracking the kidnappers, who were said to be “in motion and would likely drop her off once they might have collected the ransom.”
The kidnappers never initiated any calls, and when Nwamaka’s family members reached them through her phone for clarification on how the ransom would be paid, they only heard her screaming in pain, “I am dying. …save me, please send the money, I am dying,” before the phone finally went dead again.
The family maintained contact with the Police Commander throughout Monday night to follow up on the rescue operation.
At 4.00 am on Tuesday, January 6, when Maureen called the Commander, he expressed surprise that she (Nwamaka) had not called or returned home. He then promised to escalate the rescue operation.
The Commander later called to inform the family that “a lady had been found in a critical condition” and taken to an Abuja specialist hospital. He requested that Nwamaka’s picture be sent for identification purposes.
Maureen immediately took a flight from Lagos to Abuja and on reaching the hospital, she saw her sister’s lifeless body in the mortuary with bruises, swollen eyes and a cracked skull.
The Chigbo family has met with the Police authorities, who assured them that the case was under investigation and that the culprits would be apprehended.
Nwamaka was an active member and former treasurer of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja, member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (IFWL),
FIDA and Global Association of Female Lawyers (GAFA). She was a former President of Catholic Lawyers Association, Abuja.
An ardent Catholic, Nwamaka authored a book on Infant Jesus, and until her death, she was the vice president of the Infant Jesus Association, and member of the Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Group, among other religious groups.
