BLESSING OMALE, Abuja
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Nigeria, Abuja Branch, have raised fresh concerns over what they described as a disturbing resurgence of “one-chance” criminal operations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following the killing of a lawyer, Chigbo Mediatrix, and a nurse, Chinemerem Chuwumeziem.
The two professional women were reportedly attacked by criminals posing as commercial transport operators in separate incidents, with their bodies later discovered in different parts of the city.
Mediatrix was a former treasurer of the NBA Abuja Branch, while Chuwumeziem was a healthcare worker attached to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, Abuja.
Confirming the incidents, the FCT Police Command said investigations were ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killings.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, the police said “discreet investigations” had commenced and assured residents that efforts were being intensified to bring the perpetrators to justice.
However, the incidents have sparked outrage and deep concern among professional bodies, with the NBA warning that insecurity was once again tightening its grip on the nation’s capital.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its president, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, the NBA said the killings had plunged Abuja into grief and fear, describing them as a stark indictment of a growing security breakdown in the city.
“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.
“Their deaths underscore a frightening reality that insecurity is once again tightening its grip on the nation’s capital”, the statement said.
The association noted that criminal gangs had turned daily commuting into a deadly gamble, operating with what it described as “alarming confidence” on Abuja’s roads.
Osigwe described the death of Mediatrix as deeply personal to the legal profession, noting that she served the NBA Abuja Branch with dedication and integrity.
He said that her murder represented both a professional and personal loss to the association.
“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,” the statement read.
The NBA called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to treat the situation as a security emergency.
It demanded immediate and coordinated action, including intensified intelligence gathering, improved surveillance, robust policing of transport corridors and targeted operations against known “one-chance” syndicates.
“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.
Also condemning the killing, FIDA Abuja Branch, at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, decried the murder of one of its senior members by suspected one-chance operators, describing it as a grim reflection of worsening insecurity in the FCT.
The Chairperson of FIDA Abuja Branch, Chioma Onyenucheya-Uko, said the killing of the female lawyer was not just a personal tragedy but a damning indictment of the state of security in the nation’s capital.
“This is not just a personal tragedy; it is a searing indictment of the growing insecurity in the Federal Capital Territory, a city that ought to represent safety, order and the rule of law,” she said.
FIDA described Mediatrix as a committed advocate for justice, noting that she was reportedly attacked by suspected one-chance operators, abducted and killed, with her body later dumped along the Kubwa Expressway, where it was discovered by a commuter on the way to work.
The association said it was “devastated and outraged” by her death, stressing that the incident formed part of a persistent pattern of one-chance attacks despite repeated public outcry and media reports.
“The time for expressions of sympathy has passed. What is urgently required now is decisive, coordinated and visible action,” Onyenucheya-Uko declared.
FIDA called on the FCT Administration to declare a security emergency against one-chance criminals and to establish a dedicated multi-agency task force to dismantle the networks responsible for the attacks.
It also urged the installation of functional CCTV systems along major transport corridors and identified hotspots, as well as the sanitisation of commercial transportation through proper identification and registration of operators.
The group further appealed to security agencies to intensify intelligence-driven patrols and surveillance, ensure the arrest of perpetrators and provide regular public briefings to restore public confidence.
“No society that claims to be governed by law should tolerate the routine abduction, assault and murder of its citizens, particularly in its capital city,” the organisation said.
FIDA also called for the speedy prosecution of cases arising from one-chance operations to serve as a deterrent, warning that the killing of a legal practitioner sends a “chilling message” to residents, especially women and other vulnerable commuters.
“The safety of citizens is not optional; it is a constitutional obligation,” Onyenucheya-Uko stressed, adding that the association would not relent in its advocacy.
“We will not remain silent. We will continue to engage, advocate and demand accountability until concrete steps are taken to end this scourge,” she said.
The association vowed to pursue strategic advocacy and legal action where necessary, insisting that Mediatrix would be honoured “not with silence, but with resolve.”
Mediatrix’s killing came just days after the body of Chuwumeziem, a nurse at FMC Jabi, was also found by the roadside in Abuja, in what was reportedly another case of a one-chance attack, further heightening fears among residents over the safety of daily commuters in the FCT.
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