Abuja is once again gripped by fear following the killing of two professionals in separate attacks linked to the resurgence of notorious “one chance” criminal gangs—groups that disguise themselves as commercial transport operators to rob, assault and, increasingly, kill unsuspecting commuters.
The victims, identified as Ms. Chinemerem Pascalina Chuwumeziem, a nurse, and Princess Mediatrix Chigbo, a senior lawyer and former Treasurer of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abuja Branch, were found dead in different parts of the Federal Capital Territory. Their deaths have sent shockwaves through the city and reignited urgent questions about public safety in Nigeria’s seat of power.
“These were not faceless victims,” the NBA said in a strongly worded statement. “They were professionals, contributors to society, and ordinary citizens whose only intention was to return home safely.”
Princess Mediatrix Chigbo was a respected member of the legal community, an active figure in professional associations, and a former executive of the NBA Abuja Branch. Her body was later confirmed at the Kubwa General Hospital morgue, according to Otu Oka-Iwu Abuja, an association of Igbo Lawyers in Abuja to which she belonged.
Ms. Chuwumeziem, a healthcare worker who spent her days caring for others, was also killed under similar circumstances—another life lost on Abuja’s roads to criminals operating with what many now describe as alarming confidence.
The Nigerian Bar Association condemned the killings as “senseless and horrifying,” warning that the pattern of attacks can no longer be dismissed as isolated incidents. “Criminal gangs masquerading as transport operators have turned daily commuting into a deadly gamble,” NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, said.
For the legal profession, Chigbo’s death struck a particularly painful chord. “She was one of us,” Osigwe said. “Her murder is not only a professional loss but a stark reminder that lawyers, like all Nigerians, remain dangerously exposed in an environment where criminals act with impunity.”
Otu Oka-Iwu Abuja, in a statement signed by its president, Sir. Chidi Udekwe, Esq., described her killing as part of a broader and worsening security crisis, noting that at least two of its members survived similar attacks in recent years, one after months of hospitalisation and lasting trauma. The group said Princess Chigbo’s death followed closely on the heels of attacks on other residents, including the recent killing of the nurse and a string of robberies in Abuja’s Durumi District.
“The FCT is fast becoming a harvest field for criminals,” the group said, warning that insecurity now threatens the city’s social order and public confidence.
Both organizations have called on the FCT Minister, the Nigeria Police Force, and other security agencies to declare the situation a security emergency. Their demands include intensified patrols along known hotspots such as the Kubwa Airport Road and Durumi-Garki corridors, targeted intelligence operations against “one chance” syndicates, and the use of technology—such as phone tracking, bank transaction tracing and surveillance cameras—to dismantle criminal networks.
They also called for transparent, time-bound investigations into the killings and swift prosecution of all those responsible.
“The protection of life is the first duty of the state,” the NBA said. “Citizens should not have to choose between earning a living and staying alive.”
As families, colleagues and communities mourn, both groups warned that these deaths must not fade into statistics. Instead, they said, they should mark a turning point in how authorities confront the growing insecurity on Abuja’s roads.
“This city must not become a hunting ground,” the NBA said. “Justice must not only be promised. It must be delivered.”
