In August 2025, Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, a news anchor and producer with Arise Television, put up a post on social media platform X, in which she prayed that Nigeria should never happen to her or her loved ones.
One month and 15 days later, Somtochukwu, popularly known as Sommie, was killed in an armed robbery incident at her residence in Abuja.
The ‘Nigeria should never happen to me’ expression has become a popular social media parlance that refers to the socio-economic factors daily confronting the average citizen.
I pray from the depth of my heart that Nigeria never happens to me or anyone I care about.
The management of Arise Television said the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has commenced an investigation into the incident.
After Somtochukwu’s demise, friends and acquaintances took to social media to post about her patriotism and her desire to see Nigeria work.
In an interview in 2023, Somtochukwu spoke about her interest in politics, expressing her desire to represent Anambra central senatorial district some day in the future.
“Nonetheless, knowing what I know now about Nigerian Politics and its unpredictability, I have accepted that any opportunity to impact my country will be great, even if it is not the opportunity I desire most. I’ve learned to take advantage of every opportunity to showcase my capacity,” she said during the interview.
She would later attend the School of Politics Policy and Governance — an institution founded by Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of education.
Born on December 26, 1995, Sommie was also a trained lawyer.
Aside from being a TV presenter and lawyer, she had an interest in pageantry. In 2023, she won the Miss World Tourism Nigeria pageantry.
Somtochukwu attended Montessori International Primary School in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, and Presentation National High School, for her primary and secondary school education.
She studied law at the University of Surrey, Guildford in the United Kingdom and attended the Nigerian Law School, Bwari campus, in Abuja.
