Arise News has announced that its late anchor, journalist, and producer, Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, who was killed in a horrific armed robbery on September 29, 2025, will be laid to rest on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
In a video posted on Saturday, the network announced that an “evening of tributes will be held on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at the THISDAY Dome, Central Business District, Abuja.”
“This will be followed by a service of songs on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at the Corpus Christi Cathedral, Kaduna Street, Port Harcourt.”
According to ARISE News, “Her interment in Anambra State on Saturday, October 18, will be preceded by a funeral mass at St. Theresa Catholic Church, Agulu.”
Christelle, 29, was a Nigerian lawyer, model, newscaster, reporter, and producer. She was killed during an armed robbery at her home in Abuja’s Katampe district. Barnabas Danlami, a security guard, was also killed during the incident.
Somtochukwu Christelle: Murder suspects got arms from Niger Republic – Police
Somtochukwu Christelle: Police arrest 12 suspects over Arise TV anchor’s death
Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command has apprehended 12 people connected to the crime.
SP Josephine Adeh, the Command’s spokesman, stated on Friday that the armed robbery gang obtained their firearms from a dealer in the Niger Republic.
“Preliminary investigations showed that the syndicate procured its firearms—including a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, a pump-action gun, and a pistol—from an arms dealer operating across the Nigeria–Niger border,” Adeh said.
Adeh added that “all the suspects are from Kaduna and Katsina States and have confessed to obtaining their weapons from a yet-to-be-identified supplier in the Niger Republic.”
Adeh described how the operation to catch the culprits was carried out, stating that the Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, dispatched a special investigation team commanded by DCP Aliyu Abubakar and assisted by ACP Victor Godfrey to hunt down and dismantle the network following the murder.
