Group demands action as suspected ‘1-chance robbers’  reportedly kill Ghanaian lady in Abuja

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on authorities to take decisive action following the death of a Ghanaian woman, Freda Arnong, who was reportedly murdered by suspected “one-chance” robbers in Abuja.

In a statement issued on Monday, HURIWA’s national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, described the late Freda as a long-time supporter of the organisation and a committed advocate for human rights.

“We in the HURIWA have just read a communication about the death of a very wonderful person who hailed from Ghana but has lived in Abuja for many years doing legitimate and decent works by name Freda Arnong,” Onwubiko said.

“This God-fearing, generous soul was known to us at the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) since the year of our inauguration about eighteen years back and she had consistently supported our work, just as she was a very great human rights person.
“The details of her encounter is a reminder about the urgent need for the government to take steps to stamp out these terrorists disguising as robbers. The police, DSS, military should set up strategic observatory points within the municipal of Abuja, just as the CCTV security project must be revived and completed. Installing CCTV around the FCT and operating functional monitoring systems and quick action squads is much more urgent than building flyovers all over Abuja, as is currently being done by the politicians.”

Narrating the harrowing details of Freda’s final hours, the rights group quoted her brother as saying “On July 1, 2025, my sister, Freda Arnong, closed from her house fellowship near the CBN Institute, Maitama, Abuja. She lived on Pope John Paul Street and, like any normal evening, boarded a taxi around 7:00 pm along the Transcorp Hilton road — unaware that it was a “one chance” vehicle.

“According to Freda, the moment she entered, she was blindfolded and viciously beaten. They demanded access to her phone and ordered her to open her bank app. Freda was not a technology enthusiast — she preferred handling her banking in person. She had also misplaced her ATM card two weeks earlier and had not replaced it.

“Frustrated that they couldn’t access her money, the attackers intensified their assault. She even suggested calling her boss to transfer the ₦10 million they demanded — but they refused. Instead, they threatened to mutilate her and sell her body parts.

“They drove her around the city for hours, brutalizing her, until they finally threw her out of their vehicle around 11:00 pm near the Moshood Abiola Stadium.

“Abandoned and broken, she tried to stop passing vehicles for help — but no one would stop.

“It was a local vigilante who eventually rescued her and rushed her to the National Hospital, Abuja.

“Scans and X-rays revealed multiple broken posterior ribs, lung lacerations, kidney damage, internal bleeding, and injuries to her eyes and heart.

“Despite every effort, my sister passed away at 3:00 am on Sunday, July 7, 2025.

“What crime did Freda Arnong commit?”

Expressing outrage over the brutal killing, HURIWA urged security agencies and political leaders to respond more aggressively to the ongoing menace of “one-chance” robbery gangs in the Federal Capital Territory.

“As we in HURIWA mourn the sudden and gruesome departure of Freda Arnong through the satanic handwork of terrorists who operate in the FCT as 1-chance robbery gangs and who have operated for years without any end in sight probably because the security and political leaders of the FCT have yet to come to terms with the dangers these terrorists pose to citizens, we are calling on the Honourable minister of the FCT Barrister Nyesom Wike to set up functional joint security and civilian vigilante teams posted to strategic places within the FCT who would be armed and better funded as a matter of necessity, to hunt for 1-chance robbery gangs,” the group said.

“We urge the National Assembly to make a special legislation for the FCT, specifically making 1-chance robbery resulting in death punishable by firing squads, just as all others should get multiple life sentences in jail. There should be a declaration of a state of security emergency by the FCT minister to primarily target 1-chance robbers, terrorists and kidnappers ravaging Abuja. We implore the Nigerian media to give coverage to these dastardly crimes of 1-chance robbery and sensitise Nigerians on how to avoid these terrorists disguising as robbers. The FCT Police must fish out, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of Freda Arnong,” HURIWA added.