The family of Nwamaka Chigbo, an Abuja-based lawyer, has shared details of the final moments before her death.
The body of the lawyer was discovered on a kerb along the Kubwa expressway a few days ago.
A post on X said the deceased was found at a separate location with documents suggesting she was a staff member of the FCT high court.
The post, which included her photograph and identification card, said her bag was found a few metres from her body in a pattern consistent with “one-chance” attacks.
In a statement issued by Maureen Chigbo, publisher of Realnews Magazine, the family said they were shocked by the incident.
“The family of Princess Nwamaka Mediatrix Chigbo, an Abuja-based lawyer, is saddened to announce her brutal death at the hands of still-to-be-identified kidnappers in the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory on Monday, 5th January 2026,” the statement reads.
The family said Nwamaka was on the phone with her sister, Anthonia, before her abduction.
The statement said Anthonia briefly interrupted the call to attend to a client, and when she returned, the phone was still alive, and she heard her sister’s distress cry before it went dead.
It said Anthonia alerted Maureen Chigbo and other family members, who repeatedly called the lawyer’s number without success.
The family said when the call eventually connected, a male voice demanded a ransom of N3 million.
“Thunder fire you there, send three million Naira or else we will kill her,” the caller reportedly said.
The statement said the family contacted the police public relations officer of the FCT police command and were referred to a complaint number.
It said distress messages were also sent to the inspector-general of police and the FCT police commissioner, who linked the family to the commander of the scorpion squad.
The family said the commander later informed them that the kidnappers were being tracked and were “in motion”.
According to the statement, the kidnappers never initiated contact, and when family members reached them through the lawyer’s phone, they only heard her screaming in pain.
“I am dying… save me, please send the money, I am dying,” she was quoted as saying.
The family said they maintained contact with the police throughout the night.
It said that at about 4am on Tuesday, the commander expressed surprise that the lawyer had not returned home and promised to escalate the rescue effort.
The statement said the family was later informed that a woman in critical condition had been taken to an Abuja specialist hospital and that Nwamaka’s photograph was requested for identification.
Maureen Chigbo said she flew from Lagos to Abuja and later identified her sister’s body at the mortuary.
The family said police authorities assured them that investigations were ongoing and that perpetrators would be apprehended.
The statement said Nwamaka was a former treasurer of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja, and a member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers.
