A young legal practitioner, Jeffrey Lotanna Ucheagwu Esq., has remained missing days after his family reportedly paid ransom to his abductors.
Ucheagwu, who was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2019, is an active member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and belongs to the Young Lawyers Forum of the Anaocha Branch in Obeledu, Anambra State. He previously practised under the NBA Barnawa Branch in Kaduna State.
Information available to BarristerNG is that, the lawyer was kidnapped along the Owerri axis in Imo State on October 16, 2025. The abductors later contacted his family using his phone and demanded ?10 million. After negotiations, the ransom was reduced to ?2.1 million, which was subsequently paid into an account provided by the kidnappers.
However, shortly after payment, Ucheagwu’s phone went off and has remained unreachable. There has been no further contact from the kidnappers, and the victim’s whereabouts are still unknown.
Family members say all efforts to trace him since the payment have proved abortive.
