The abduction of a newly called female lawyer and her sister along the Okene axis in Kogi State has drawn strong condemnation, with Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lagos Branch, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, FCIArb(UK), describing the incident as a “painful scar on our nation’s conscience.”
In a heartfelt statement, Akangbe lamented that what should have been a season of joy following the Call to Bar has now turned into “a season of tears and uncertainty.” He warned that when highways become “hunting grounds for kidnappers,” it is a reflection of a society in decline.
“The measure of any nation is not in the splendour of its ceremonies, but in the safety and dignity it guarantees to its citizens,” he stressed.
Calling on security agencies to act with urgency and compassion, he urged the immediate rescue of the abducted young women and demanded reassurance to Nigerians that roads across the country are not “death traps.”
Akangbe emphasized that leadership is a sacred trust and warned that such trust is betrayed when citizens cannot move freely in their own land. He concluded with prayers for the safe return of the victims, strength for their families, and for authorities to rise above rhetoric and restore faith in the Nigerian Project.
Signed:
✍️
Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, FCIArb(UK)
Former Chairman, NBA Lagos Branch
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