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 5 th and 6 th 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 the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory on Monday, January 5, 2026.
A release signed on behalf of the family by Mr. Celestine Chigbo and Maureen Chigbo, PhD, listed the programme of activities for the funeral, starting with a wake kept on Thursday, February 5, 2026, with Mass at 5 pm. Immediately after the Mass, there will be a Night of Tribute from 6 pm – 8 pm.
The venue for the two events is at 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 respects to the late Barr. Princess Nwamaka Mediatrix Chigbo at the Pa Adolphus Chigbo’s Family compound, Abidi Village, Umuoji, starting at 8 am.
The 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. 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.
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 message 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 not called or 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 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 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.
