The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has apprehended 12 suspects in connection with the armed robbery that claimed the life of Somtochukwu “Sommie” Christella Maduagwu, a news anchor and producer with Arise Television, alongside a security guard.
According to a police statement, the suspects have confessed to their roles in the crime.
The Incident
On 29 September 2025, around 3:30 a.m., about fifteen armed men invaded Unique Apartments, a 16-flat building in the Katampe (Gishiri) area of Abuja.
During the robbery, the security guard on duty, identified as Barnabas Danlami, was shot by one of the assailants when he tried to resist their access to the premises.
Meanwhile, Ms Maduagwu, in a bid to escape, jumped from the third floor of the building. She was later found unconscious and transported to hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Arrests, Confessions and Recovered Items
The police say that operatives of the “Scorpion Squad”, led by ACP Victor Godfrey and acting on digital and reconstructive intelligence from Giga Forensics (a subsidiary of EIB STRATOC), made the arrests.
The twelve suspects were named as follows: Shamsudeen Hassan (Malumfashi, Katsina), Hassan Isah (Zaria, Kaduna), Abubakar Alkamu, alias Abba (Musawa, Katsina), Sani Sirajo, alias Dan Borume (Malumfashi, Katsina), Mashkur Jamilu, alias Abba (Igabi, Kaduna), and Suleiman Badamasi, alias Dan-Sule (Malumfashi, Katsina).
Others are Abdul Salam Saleh, alias Na-Durudu (Katsina), Zaharadeen Muhammad, alias Gwaska (Chikun, Kaduna), Musa Adamu, alias Musa Hassan (Malumfashi, Katsina), Sumayya Mohammed, alias Baby (Sammaka, Kaduna), Isah Abdulrahman, alias Abbati (Zaria, Kaduna), and Musa Umar, alias Small (Maiduguri, Borno).
During interrogation, Shamsudeen Hassan admitted to shooting Danlami when the guard tried to block access; Sani Sirajo confessed to trying to prevent Ms Maduagwu from falling, but said he was overwhelmed by her weight; and Hassan claimed he drove away in a white Honda CR-V used in the operation, and that some suspects received ₦200,000 each from the proceeds.
Law enforcement recovered the following exhibits: a fabricated AK-47 rifle, 36 rounds of 9 mm live ammunition, a locally made pistol, a pump-action gun, two live cartridges, four mobile phones belonging to victims, two sharp knives, a cutlass, and torchlights used during the operation.
Police said that four of the suspects were initially tracked and arrested via the stolen phones’ digital signatures.
On 8 October, police intercepted some of the remaining gang members, among them Musa Umar and Hassan Isah, as they travelled to carry out another planned robbery in the Maitama area of Abuja.
Authorities further disclosed that the suspects had allegedly been involved in other armed robbery attacks, including in Katampe 1 (hotel area), Apo, and Zuba.
The FCT Police Command says the investigation is ongoing and that there may be more arrests ahead.
The funeral rites for Ms Maduagwu are scheduled to begin on 12 October, with events in both Abuja and Port Harcourt, culminating in her final interment on 18 October at St Theresa Catholic Church, Agulu, Anambra State.
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