Abductors of Newly Called-to-the-Bar Lawyer and Sister Demand ₦40 Million Ransom — Family Cries Out
The family of Peace Udoka Onyesom, a young lawyer freshly called to the Nigerian Bar, and her sister, Gift Onyesom, are in anguish after kidnappers demanded a staggering ₦40 million ransom for their release.
The sisters were abducted on Friday, September 26, 2025, along the notorious Okene–Auchi highway, a corridor long plagued by banditry and armed attacks. Peace had just celebrated her milestone Call-to-Bar ceremony on September 23, a dream she worked tirelessly to achieve. That dream has now been eclipsed by fear and uncertainty.
Speaking to journalists, their elder sister, Adaeze Onyesom, confirmed the ransom demand. According to her, negotiations have dragged since the abduction, with kidnappers shifting goalposts in a cruel game of psychological torture.
“At first, they asked for ₦100 million. We begged. They reduced it to ₦20 million each — ₦40 million total. We told them all we could raise was ₦7 million. They said they will not accept anything less than ₦20 million per person,” Adaeze explained with a voice heavy from sleepless nights.
Peace had traveled with other colleagues from Abuja after the ceremony. The group was in high spirits, their legal wigs and gowns packed carefully as souvenirs of triumph.
Their joy ended abruptly when gunmen intercepted their bus, forcing passengers into the surrounding forest. Eyewitnesses later told security officials that the attackers fired sporadically, creating panic before dragging selected victims away.
Gift, who had been in touch with her younger sibling earlier in the journey, suddenly went silent. Hours later, a strange man picked up her phone and identified himself as a “policeman.” He told the family she had been kidnapped and that security operatives were “on the trail of the bandits.”
That call marked the beginning of a family’s ordeal.
The first direct communication came on Friday evening. The kidnappers demanded ₦100 million. The family, stunned, pleaded. On Saturday, the abductors returned, reducing the price but hardening their tone.
By Sunday morning, they called again, this time allowing Peace and Gift to speak. Their trembling voices begged their relatives to do everything possible.
“It broke us,” Adaeze recalled. “Hearing their voices, hearing them cry, asking us not to abandon them… We are selling everything we can. We are begging everyone we know. We cannot afford ₦40 million, but they won’t listen.”
The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed that eight abducted persons from the same highway attack have been rescued. According to CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, Force Public Relations Officer, operations are ongoing to secure the release of four others, including Peace and Gift.
“Our tactical units are working with local intelligence and sister agencies. We are optimistic about securing their release,” Hundeyin told reporters.
But families of those still in captivity remain skeptical, haunted by Nigeria’s history of stalled rescue missions and ransom tragedies.
The Okene–Auchi road, a vital economic artery connecting the North to the South, has become synonymous with ambushes.
In recent years:
- Students traveling home for holidays have been seized.
- Clergy members have been killed or held for ransom.
- Traders and commuters have lost lives and livelihoods in repeated attacks.
Residents now call it the “Corridor of Tears.” Despite repeated promises, successive governments have failed to permanently secure the highway.
Kidnapping for ransom has evolved into a multi-billion naira criminal industry. Experts estimate that families across Nigeria have paid over ₦13 billion in ransoms between 2016 and 2023.
The pattern is grim:
- Initial high demands to shock victims.
- Gradual “reductions” framed as concessions.
- Psychological warfare, allowing captives to speak to loved ones.
Criminologists argue that the absence of stringent crackdowns, coupled with desperate families who often pay quietly, has emboldened kidnappers.
Peace’s story symbolizes the human toll. For years, she labored through Nigeria’s underfunded legal education system, overcoming strikes, delays, and financial strain. Her family rejoiced when she finally became a lawyer.
“Her gown is still hanging in the house,” Adaeze said softly. “We were supposed to celebrate. Now we are begging for her life.”
Gift, her elder sister, had stood by her through the process, sharing in her triumph. Today, both are trapped in the same nightmare.
The Onyesoms are not wealthy. Raising ₦40 million is impossible without liquidating assets. They are now selling property at giveaway prices, borrowing from friends, and making public appeals.
“We have begged the kidnappers. We told them we have only ₦7 million. They said it’s not enough,” Adaeze said. “We don’t know what else to do. Every minute feels like a year.”
Their plea echoes that of countless Nigerian families trapped between criminal gangs and indifferent state structures.
The case has sparked outrage online. Nigerians have flooded social media with messages of solidarity:
- “A lawyer just called to the bar, already facing Nigeria’s worst tragedy. What future do our youths have?” one user wrote.
- Others questioned why major roads remain unprotected despite heavy federal security budgets.
- Some cynically advised the family to prepare ransom quietly, reflecting public distrust in state rescue promises.
This skepticism mirrors Nigeria’s broader crisis of confidence in governance.
Analysts argue that cases like Peace’s underscore the urgent need for structural reforms:
- Intelligence-driven policing along highways.
- Community policing models to build trust with locals.
- Regulation of ransom payments to cut kidnappers’ profits.
- Technology integration—drones, CCTV, and tracking tools.
Without systemic change, families will continue to sell homes and beg strangers just to ransom their loved ones.
As of this writing, Peace and Gift remain in captivity. Their family waits, torn between hope and despair. Their story is not isolated—it is the story of thousands of Nigerians caught in the grip of a kidnapping epidemic.
Whether through ransom or rescue, their fate will once again test Nigeria’s capacity to protect its citizens.
For now, the Onyesom family’s prayer is simple: Bring our daughters back alive.