A Ghanaian woman, Miss Freda Arnong has died after being violently attacked and flung from a moving car by "one-chance robbers" in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). After nearly twenty years of living and working in Abuja, Freda passed away at around three in the morning on Sunday, July 7, 2025, from wounds she had received in the vicious attack. Her brother, Arnong Arnong, stated that on July 1, at approximately 7:00 p.m., Freda left a house fellowship near the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Institute in Maitama and got into a taxi that was going to Pope John Paul Street on the Transcorp Hilton road, where she lived. She didn't realize the car was driven by robbers. Arnong recounted how his sister told him that soon after getting into the car, she was blindfolded and brutally beaten by the men, who then demanded that she give them access to her phone and bank app. He said Freda was not tech-savvy and had misplaced her ATM card weeks prior without replacing it. Desperate to get their hands on her money, the bandits stepped up their attack. Even though she offered to call her employer to send the N10 million they were requesting, they declined and threatened to dismember her and sell her body parts. Eventually, at about 11:00 p.m., she was flung from the moving car close to Moshood Abiola Stadium. She tried unsuccessfully to get assistance from passing cars after becoming hurt and defenseless. After a while, a local vigilante rescued her and took her to the National Hospital in Abuja. Medical scans revealed severe trauma, including broken posterior ribs, lung lacerations, kidney damage, internal bleeding, and injuries to her eyes and heart. She died days later in hospital. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has mourned the d3ath of Freda, lamenting that the criminals have operated for years, likely because the security and political leaders of the FCT have yet to come to terms with the dangers these terrorists pose to citizens. The group in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, called for justice for Freda and all victims of the crime, stressing that such an incident should never happen again. This God-fearing, generous soul was known to us at HURIWA since the year of our inauguration about eighteen years ago, and she had consistently supported our work, just as she was a very great human rights person, Onwubiko said. "The details of her encounter are a reminder of the urgent need for the government to take steps to stamp out these terrorists disguised as robbers. The police, Department of State Services (DSS), and the military should set up strategic observatory points within the municipality of Abuja, just as the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) security project must be revived and completed. "Installing CCTV around the FCT and operating functional monitoring systems and quick-response squads is much more urgent than building flyovers all over Abuja, as is currently being done by the politicians. "What crime did Freda Arnong commit? Her only crime was living in a beautiful city plagued by a broken system. "How long will we keep losing innocent lives to the one-chance criminal syndicates? When will public transportation be safe for everyone? When will our leaders prioritise technology-driven transport safety? "We must demand a driver and vehicle authentication system, where commuters can verify the identity and registration of commercial vehicles and their drivers in real time before boarding. Freda cannot d!e in vain. Her k!llers must be found and prosecuted. There are countless families silently grieving loved ones lost to the same fate, abandoned by a system that failed to protect them. We must rise. We must demand change.
0 Comments