Eleven suspects arrested over the murder of Arise News journalist Somtochukwu Maduagwu and a security guard, Barnabas Danlami, were on Wednesday arraigned before a Federal Capital Territory court.
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command confirmed the arraignment in a statement issued on Wednesday, saying the suspects were charged with criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder.
On September 29, 2025, Somtochukwu, an anchor, reporter, and producer for Arise News, was killed alongside Danlami during a robbery at Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Mabushi, Abuja.
Shamsu Hassan, Sani Sirajo, Hassan Isah, Abubakar Alkamu, Abdulsalam Saleh, Suleiman Badamasi, Zaharadeen Mohammed, Musa Umar (aka “Small”), Mashkur Jamil, Suleiman Sani, and Abubakar Usman have all been charged.
The command said in a statement, “The suspects were arraigned on a nine-count charge, including criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder.”
The 29-year-old journalist died on September 29, 2025, when armed robbers invaded the three-story apartment complex around 3:30 a.m., marching from flat to flat and dispossessing occupants of their things.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, speaking at the time, said, “Policemen moved to the scene and found her lying unconscious. She was immediately taken to Maitama General Hospital, where doctors tried to resuscitate her using CPR, but sadly, she could not make it.”
Adewale condemned the killing as “cruel and senseless,” emphasizing that such violence “has no place in a sane society.”
The Command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, previously stated that preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate obtained its firearms from an arms dealer operating across the Nigeria-Niger border.
Items recovered from the suspects include a fabricated AK-47 rifle, 36 rounds of live ammunition, a locally made pistol, a pump-action gun, two cartridges, four mobile phones belonging to the victims, knives, a cutlass, and nine flashlights.
The suspects also confessed to participating in previous armed robbery operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo, and another in Zuba, all within the FCT.
Arise Television’s management praised Maduagwu as “delectable, intelligent, and bold,” noting that she joined the station in September 2024 after representing Nigeria at the Miss Tourism World pageant in Quanzhou, China, in 2023.
The management team highlighted that she pushed for out-of-school children and campaigned against sexual and gender-based violence using her legal expertise and reporting skills.
The case has been adjourned till February 2026 for additional procedures.
