Abuja, Nigeria – November 27, 2025 – The families of two senior female directors of the Federal Ministry of Defence are in anguish and have accused both the ministry and security agencies of abandoning their loved ones more than two weeks after a horrific kidnapping incident.
On November 9, 2025, six female directors attached to Command Secondary School, Ojo, Lagos, under the Ministry of Defence, were abducted while travelling by road from Lagos to Abuja to sit for a Directorate-level promotion examination.
The victims, all travelling in the same bus operated by Andy Liz Motors Limited from First Gate Park, Festac, Lagos, were identified as:
- Mrs Ngozi Ibeziakor
- Mrs Catherine Essien
- Mrs Helen Ezeakor
- Mrs C.A. Ladoye
- Mrs Juliana Onwuzurike
- Mrs Chinwe Adline Emeribe
The bus was attacked by armed gunmen along the Kabba-Lokoja road in Kogi State, one of Nigeria’s most dangerous highways. The driver escaped during the ambush, but the six women were marched into the forest. Three other travellers from Nasarawa State who were in a separate vehicle were reportedly killed on the spot.
After intense negotiations that lasted nearly two weeks, a ransom was paid and four of the women — Mrs Ibeziakor, Mrs Essien, Mrs Ezeakor, and Mrs Ladoye — were released. However, Mrs Juliana Onwuzurike and Mrs Chinwe Adline Emeribe remain missing with no further contact from the kidnappers.
A Ministry of Defence staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity described the bizarre release process: the abductors insisted that the ransom be delivered by a driver from the same transport company. When the designated driver returned to Festac Park with the bus, anxious family members waiting at the park discovered it was empty. The driver claimed he had dropped the four released women at various bus stops near their homes as they requested. He admitted only four women had been handed over to him. Since that day, no information has emerged about the remaining two.
The source expressed outrage that the Ministry of Defence has not mounted any visible effort to locate the missing women or support their families. He also questioned why neither the escaped original driver nor the four released victims have been properly debriefed by security agencies.
He further revealed that the promotion examination was originally scheduled to be conducted as a Computer-Based Test (CBT) at JAMB centres across the country so that civil servants would not have to travel long distances and expose themselves to danger. However, at the last minute, candidates were ordered to appear physically in Abuja without any travel allowance or logistical support.
“They would have flown if the next day if the ministry had provided even a modest transport stipend,” the staff member said. “But because they had to pay everything from their own pockets, they resorted to night travel by road. This tragedy could have been prevented.”
Mr Nnamdi Emeribe, husband of the still-missing Mrs Chinwe Adline Emeribe, told journalists that his family has been met with frustration and indifference at every turn.
“We have gone to Command Secondary School Ojo where my wife is posted — no meaningful help. We have approached the Ministry of Defence headquarters — nothing, not even a phone call. Even the senior staff union they belong to has not said a word since this incident happened,” he said.
The family reported the case at Festac Police Division and was directed to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit at Panti, Yaba. On November 26, they visited Panti only to be told that a lawyer sent by Andy Liz Motors had earlier informed the police there were “no suspects” in the matter. When the officer-in-charge tried to invite the transport company’s lawyer and the two drivers involved (the one who fled the ambush and the one who delivered the ransom), none of them answered their phones.
Attempts to speak with the four released women have also been unsuccessful. Their relatives have shielded them, saying they are still receiving medical and psychological care after the trauma.
Mr Emeribe revealed that the ransom negotiation was largely handled by a director of Andy Liz Motors, with the company contributing part of the money while the victims’ families paid the balance. His own family alone paid N6,429,000 for his wife, yet she remains in captivity.
“We paid everything ourselves. The Ministry of Defence did not contribute one kobo, did not send a representative, did not even call to ask how we are coping,” he said, fighting back tears.
“Chinwe was travelling on an official assignment. She was compelled to go to Abuja for this exam. If not for that instruction, she would have been here in Lagos with her children. Now they have abandoned us. Please, if she is alive, let them bring her out. If she is dead, let them bring her body so we can bury her and have peace.”
The families of Mrs Juliana Onwuzurike and Mrs Chinwe Emeribe say they are working together and plan to return to Panti police station today, November 27, to demand answers and insist that the transport company officials and drivers be compelled to appear for proper questioning.
As of the time of this report, neither the Federal Ministry of Defence nor the Nigerian Police Force has issued any official statement on the status of the two missing directors or the investigation into the kidnapping.
