The Nigerian Bar Association has cried out over the disturbing rise of “one chance” criminal operations in the Federal Capital Territory, following the killings of a nurse, Ms. Chinemerem Pascalina Chuwumeziem and a lawyer, Princess Chigbo Mediatrix.
Chuwumeziem was a healthcare worker and Mediatrix was a former Treasurer of the NBA Abuja Branch.
Criminals posing as commercial transport operators attacked both women and threw their bodies in different parts of the city.
FCT Police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, on Wednesday, said “discreet investigations” were ongoing on the murder of Mediatrix.
NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, on Thursday, said ‘one chance’ criminals had reduced Abuja into a feaful city, 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.
“Their deaths underscore a frightening reality that insecurity is once again tightening its grip on the nation’s capital,” the association said.
The NBA said the killings indicted security agencies following security breakdown in Abuja, adding that criminals had turned daily commuting into a deadly gamble.
Osigwe described the death of Mediatrix as deeply personal for the legal profession, adding that she served the NBA Abuja Branch with dedication and integrity, and that her murder was both a professional and personal loss.
“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 added.
The association 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.
The NBA called for immediate and coordinated action, including intensified intelligence gathering, surveillance, policing of transport corridors and targeted operations against known “one chance” syndicates.
“The NBA, therefore, calls on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the Nigeria Police Force, and all other relevant security agencies to treat this situation as a security emergency.
“Immediate, visible, and coordinated action is required to dismantle these criminal networks. Justice must not only be promised. It must be delivered,” the statement added.
