Late Nwamaka Mediatrix Chigbo

Lagos, February 1, 2026 – The family of the late Pa Adolphus and Victoria Chigbo of Abidi Village, Umuoji, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, has announced that the funeral ceremony of Barrister Princess Nwamaka Mediatrix Chigbo will be held on the 5th and 6th February, 2026.

Nwamaka, an Abuja-based lawyer and former treasurer of the Nigerian Bar Association Abuja Branch, was brutally murdered by still-to-be-identified kidnappers in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory FCT, on Monday, January 5, 2026.

According to a statement signed on behalf of the family by Mr. Celestine Chigbo and MaureenChigbo, PhD, the programme of activities for the funeral starts with a wake kept on Thursday, February 5, 2026, with Mass at 5pm, which will be preceded by a Night of Tribute from 6pm – 8 pm. The venue for the two events is Adolphus Chigbo’s Compound, Abidi Village, Umuoji, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State.

On February 6, 2026, there will be a lawyers’ file to welcome the deceased’s body, while family, friends, and well-wishers will have the opportunity for viewing and paying last respect to the late Barr. Princess Nwamaka Mediatrix Chigbo at the Pa Adolphus Chigbo’s Family compound, Abidi Village, Umuoji, starting at 8am.

A Requiem Mass will begin at 10 am at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church, Abidi Village, Umuoji. Interment will follow immediately after the Requiem Mass at the Pa Adolphus Chigbo Compound, while reception is also at the same venue.

The outing Mass will be held on Sunday, February 8, 2026, at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church, Abidi, Umuoji, at 9:30 am.

“The family wishes all those coming to the funeral a safe journey and advises those travelling to Umuoji to follow the directions as stated: From Nkpor Junction, drive through Nkpor-Umuoji Road to Abidi Village. Stop at the Old Post Office, turn onto St. Scholastica Monastery Road, and ask for Adolphus Chigbo’s Family Compound”, the statement read in part.

Recall that the family had issued a statement announcing her death on January 8, 2026, stating that before her abduction, Barrister Nwamaka was on the phone with her sister Anthonia, who briefly interrupted the call to attend to a client. When she reverted, the barrister’s phone was still live, and Anthonia could hear her sister’s distress cry before the phone suddenly went dead and unreachable.

Anthonia alerted her elder sister, Maureen Chigbo, and other family members, who called the lawyer’s number repeatedly to reach her or her abductors to no avail.

When a call finally went through, a male voice rained curses in English and Hausa

language, saying: “Thunder fire you there, send three million Naira or else we will kill

her.” The captors gave no further details and abruptly terminated subsequent calls.

Barrister Nwamaka’s family later tried to contact the Police Force Public Relations

Officer and left a text message on her phone. They were referred to two Police

complaint numbers.

The family equally sent a distress text and WhatsApp messages to the Inspector

General of Police IGP, and also contacted the FCT Police Commissioner, who

immediately linked them up to the Commander of the Scorpion Squad, in charge of

kidnapping in Abuja.

The Commander later called to inform the family that the Police were tracking the

kidnappers, who were said to be “in motion and would likely drop the lawyer off once

they might have collected the ransom.”

The kidnappers never initiated any calls, and when Nwamaka’s family members

reached them through her phone for clarification on how the ransom would be paid,

they only heard the lawyer screaming in pain, “I am dying. …save me, please send the

money, I am dying,” before the phone finally went dead again.

The family maintained contact with the Police Commander throughout Monday night

to follow up on the rescue operation.

At 4 am on Tuesday, 6th January, when Maureen called the Commander, he

expressed surprise that the lawyer had neither called nor returned home. He then promised

to escalate the rescue operation.

The Commander later called to inform the family that “a lady had been found in a

critical condition” and taken to an Abuja specialist hospital. He requested that Nwamaka’s picture be sent for identification purposes.

Maureen immediately took a flight from Lagos to Abuja and, on reaching the hospital, saw her sister’s lifeless body in the mortuary with bruises, swollen eyes, and a cracked skull, all signs of a tortured death.

The Chigbo family has met with the Police authorities, who assured them that the case was under investigation and that the culprits would be apprehended.

Nwamaka was an active member and former treasurer of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja, a member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers IFWL, FIDA and the Global Association of Female Lawyers, GAFA.

She was a former President of the Catholic Lawyers Association, Abuja. An ardent Catholic, Nwamaka authored a book on Infant Jesus, and until her death, was the vice president of the Infant Jesus Association, a member of the Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Group, among other religious groups.

The statement further reads: “The family expresses its gratitude to the Police for their efforts and cooperation so far and urges the force to ensure that justice is served in Nwamaka’s case. The family also wishes to thank Nwamaka’s friends, colleagues, and well-wishers for their support and prayers.”