The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has described fresh “one chance” attacks in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a grave security emergency that requires immediate government action.
This followed the killing of a nurse, Ms Chinemerem Pascalina Chuwumeziem, and a lawyer, Princess Chigbo Mediatrix, by criminals posing as commercial transport operators.
Mediatrix, a former Treasurer of the NBA Abuja Branch, and Chuwumeziem, a healthcare worker, were said to have boarded vehicles operated by suspected criminals. Their bodies were later discovered in different parts of the city.
Confirming Mediatrix’s death, the FCT Police Command said investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, the police assured that “discreet investigations” had been launched to unravel the case.
Reacting on Thursday, the NBA, through its President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the killings had thrown Abuja into fear and mourning, warning that insecurity was once again tightening its grip on the nation’s capital.
“These were not faceless victims. They were professionals, contributors to society, and ordinary citizens whose only intention was to return safely from their daily engagements,” Osigwe said.
According to him, the tragic deaths highlight a disturbing breakdown in security, with criminal gangs now turning routine commuting into a life-threatening gamble for residents.
Describing the murder of Princess Mediatrix as a painful loss to the legal profession, Osigwe noted that she served the NBA Abuja Branch with dedication and integrity, adding that her death was both a professional and personal blow.
“The Nigerian Bar Association condemns in the strongest terms these senseless and horrifying killings. The pattern is no longer deniable. Criminal gangs, masquerading as commercial transport operators, now operate with alarming confidence on our roads,” he stated.
The association called for urgent and coordinated measures, including intensified intelligence gathering, expanded surveillance, stronger policing of transport corridors and targeted operations against known “one chance” syndicates.
“The NBA therefore calls on the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the Nigeria Police Force, and all other relevant security agencies to treat this situation as a security emergency,” the statement said.
“Immediate, visible and coordinated action is required to dismantle these criminal networks. Justice must not only be promised; it must be delivered,” the association added.
