A 23-year-old woman, Grace Godwin, was found dead on Saturday morning in the Jabi area of Abuja, in what police suspect to be a case of abduction and possible murder.
Godwin, who worked as a fuel attendant at the Mobil Filling Station in Mabushi, was discovered unconscious by the roadside near Iya Abubakar Street around 6:00 a.m. on July 12, 2025, according to police sources.
Officers from the Jabi Police Division arrived promptly at the scene and rushed her to the National Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Grace boarded a commercial vehicle around 8:53 p.m. on Friday in Mabushi, which is suspected to have been operated by a “one chance” criminal gang.
‘One-chance’ robbery is a notorious form of crime in Nigeria where criminals pose as taxi or bus drivers to rob unsuspecting passengers.
Once a victim boards the vehicle, the criminals rob, assault, or even abduct them, often at gunpoint or knifepoint.
The suspects reportedly contacted her family at 11:56 p.m. the same night to demand a ransom.
Police say a manhunt is underway to identify and apprehend those responsible.
“Investigation is ongoing, and all efforts are being intensified to bring the perpetrators to justice,” one of the sources said.
Abuja, the nation’s capital, has increasingly become a hotspot for criminal activities, with kidnapping and “one chance” robberies now occurring almost daily, raising serious concern among residents of the Federal Capital Territory.
Similarly, Miss Freda Arnong, a Ghanaian national and staff member of the Ghana High Commission in Abuja, recently died after falling victim to a ‘one-chance’ robbery.
On July 1, 2025, Freda boarded a taxi near the CBN Institute in Maitama after attending a house fellowship. The vehicle was operated by criminals who blindfolded and assaulted her, demanding access to her phone and bank app.
Around 11:00 p.m., she was thrown out of the moving vehicle near Moshood Abiola Stadium.
A good Samaritan eventually found her and rushed her to the National Hospital, Abuja, where she died from severe injuries on July 7, 2025.
