By Hussain J-Isah
The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, police command has announced the arrest of the suspected armed robbers in connection with the death of an ARISE Television staff member, Ms. Somtochukwu Christella Maduagwu.
Recall that the ARISE news anchor and a security guard, Mr. Barnabas Danlami, lost their lives during the robbery incident at Unique Apartment, Gishiri Village, Katampe District, Abuja. The incident occurred at about 3:30am, on September 29, 2025.
In one of the accounts, the late Somtochukwu reportedly jumped from the balcony of her apartment on the third floor of the building when the robbers invaded her residential estate.
The police, in a statement on Thursday said shortly after the incident, four of the robbery suspects were apprehended through the tracking of the mobile phones stolen from the building.
According to the police, one of the suspects, Shamsudeen Hassan, confessed to have shot the security guard when he attempted for making an attempt at foiling their efforts to gain access to the building.
Sani Sirajo, another suspect reportedly said he held Somtochukwu from falling off the storey building but was overwhelmed by her weight.
A statement by the FCT police command partly reads: “Operatives of the scorpion squad led by ACP Victor Godfrey acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence provided by Giga Forensics, a subsidiary of EIB STRATOC, have successfully arrested twelve (12) of the armed robbers that were involved in that operation.
“During interrogation, Shamsudeen Hassan confessed that he shot the security guard when he attempted to prevent them from gaining access to the apartment.
“Sani Sirajo confessed to have tried to hold Somtochukwu Christella Maduagwu from falling off the three-storey building but was overwhelmed by her weight.
“Shamsudeen further confessed that he drove the white Honda CR-V jeep out of the apartment after the operation. The four suspects admitted that they each received ₦200,000 from the proceeds of the crime.
“Recovered exhibits include: one (1) fabricated AK-47 rifle; thirty-six (36) rounds of 9mm live ammunition; one (1) locally made pistol; one (1) pump-action gun; two (2) live cartridges; four (4) mobile phones of the victims; two (2) sharp knives; one (1) cutlass; nine (9) torch lights used during the operation.”
The police listed the 12 suspects in the robbery to include:
1. Shamsudeen Hassan ‘m’ from Malumfashi LGA Katsina state
2. Hassan Isah ‘m’, 22 years from Zaria kaduna State
3. Abubakar Alkamu a.k.a. abba ‘m’, 27 years from Musawa LGA katsina state
4. Sani Sirajo a.k.a. dan borume ‘m’ 20 years from Malumfashi LGA katsina state
5. Mashkur Jamilu a.k.a. abba ‘m’ 28 years from Igabi LGA kaduna state
6. Suleiman Badamasi a.k.a. dan-sule ‘m’ 21 years from Malumfashi LGA katsina state
7. Abdul Salam saleh a.k.a. na-durudu ‘m’ from katsina lga katsina State
8. Zaharadeen Muhammad a.k.a. gwaska ‘m’ 23 years from chikun lga kaduna state
9. Musa adamu a.k.a. musa hassan ‘m’ 30 years from malumfashi lga katsina state
10. Sumayya Mohammed a.k.a. baby ‘m’ 27 years from Sammaka LGA, Kaduna state
11. Isah Abdulrahman a.k.a. abbati ‘m’, 25 years from Zaria LGA, Kaduna state
12. Musa Umar a.k.a. small ‘m’ 31 years from Maiduguri LGA Borno state.
The police added that all suspects involved confessed to the crimes, while investigation is ongoing.
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