The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has revealed that the armed robbery suspects responsible for the killing of Arise News anchor Somtochukwu Maduagwu sourced their weapons from a supplier in the Niger Republic.
SP Josephine Adeh, the Command’s spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement on Friday while announcing the arrest of 12 suspects in connection with the September 29, 2025, robbery and murder at Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Abuja, in which Maduagwu and a security guard, Barnabas Danlami, were killed.
According to Adeh, preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate obtained its guns, which included a locally made AK-47 rifle, a pump-action gun, and a pistol, from an arms dealer operating over the Nigeria-Niger border.
“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 said.
The police listed the arrested suspects as Shamsudeen Hassan, Hassan Isah (22), Abubakar Alkamu (27), Sani Sirajo (20), Mashkur Jamilu (28), Suleiman Badamasi (21), Abdulsalam Saleh, Zaharadeen Muhammad (23), Musa Adamu (30), Sumayya Mohammed (27), Isah Abdulrahman (25), and Musa Umar (31).
Adeh stated that the suspects confessed to carrying out operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo and Zuba, before the robbery that claimed the lives of the Arise News anchor and the security guard.
“They have also confessed to participating in other armed robbery operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo, and another in Zuba, all within the FCT,” the statement added.
Adeh further revealed that investigations confirmed that Hassan Shamsudeen fired the shot that killed the security guard during the attack.
“Further investigations confirmed that the fatal shot, which claimed the life of the security guard, Mr. Barnabas Danlami, was fired by one of the suspects, Shamsudeen Hassan,” she said.
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.
“Following the tragic incident, the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ajao S. Adewale psc. mnips., established a Special Investigation Team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, DCP Aliyu Abubakar, and assisted by the Commander, Scorpion Squad, ACP Victor Godfrey, with a clear mandate to track down and dismantle the criminal network behind the attack. Leveraging digital reconstructive intelligence and conducting coordinated operations across the FCT, Nasarawa, and Kaduna States, the team successfully apprehended the suspects,” she said.
The police urged residents to remain alert and report suspicious movements through its emergency lines.
