A Nigerian lawyer has recounted a harrowing kidnapping experience in which she was beaten, tied up and locked inside the boot of her own car before eventually escaping from a kidnappers’ camp.
Speaking during the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference, the lawyer, who identified herself as Chidinma Ono, said the incident happened about a decade ago while she was returning from work.
According to her account, the ordeal began after she stopped to offer people a lift during rainfall. She said she knew one of the people she picked up, but later realised she had unknowingly allowed suspected kidnappers into her vehicle.
She said two men subsequently attacked her while the vehicle was moving, before tying her up with her suit jacket and putting her inside the boot.
The moment she feared she would suffocate
Ono said she was unable to breathe properly inside the boot and eventually used a wheel spanner to break one of the lights of her Kia Optima.
She explained that she was not initially trying to escape through the broken light but simply wanted to create an opening that would allow air into the boot.
She also recalled hearing the kidnappers discuss what they believed was inside the boot, an exchange she said remained in her memory for years.
Taken to a kidnappers’ camp
According to the lawyer, she was later removed from her vehicle and transferred into a boat before being taken into a bush area.
It was there, she said, that she began to realise she had been taken into what appeared to be an organised kidnapping camp.
She described seeing people performing different roles, including cooking, providing food and water, suggesting that the operation was more structured than she initially understood.
Ono said people from different ethnic backgrounds were present in the camp.
She also said one of her captors eventually asked what she did for a living. Although she considered lying, she decided to tell him that she was a lawyer.
According to her account, she told him that she defended people accused of wrongdoing, including people like him.
She said the man subsequently indicated that he would help her.
How she was eventually rescued
Ono said her escape came unexpectedly when three young boys entered the area to hunt on a Sunday morning.
According to her account, the boys initially thought she was an animal because of the circumstances in which they found her.
She said they eventually helped her out of the bush, bringing an end to the ordeal.
Lawyer criticises response after rescue
The lawyer also alleged that her difficulties did not end immediately after she was rescued.
She said that when she went to the police to report the incident, she was repeatedly asked to provide money for expenses including an affidavit, fuel and other investigative activities.
She said the experience became frustrating, particularly because she was still dealing with the trauma of the kidnapping.
Ono said she eventually conducted her own investigation and was able to trace her stolen vehicle.
Her message: technology can help fight kidnapping
Reflecting on the experience, the lawyer argued that Nigeria can do more to use technology in the fight against kidnapping.
She pointed to tools such as drones, helicopters and tracking technology, arguing that security agencies can use available technology to locate criminal networks operating in remote areas.
Her account came during discussions on insecurity at the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference, which is being held in Port Harcourt. The NBA’s official conference platform confirms the 2026 AGC and its attendee programme.