Eleven suspects linked to 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 released on Wednesday, stating that the suspects were charged with criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder.
Maduagwu, an anchor, reporter, and producer with Arise News, was killed alongside Danlami during a robbery attack at Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Mabushi, Abuja, on September 29, 2025.
The suspects arraigned include 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.
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 in the early hours of September 29, 2025, when armed robbers stormed the three-storey apartment complex around 3:30 am, moving from flat to flat and dispossessing residents of their belongings.
PUNCHONLINE reports that 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 had condemned the killing as “cruel and senseless,” stressing that such violence “has no place in a sane society.”
The Command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, had earlier revealed that preliminary investigations showed the syndicate procured 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 torchlights.
The suspects also confessed to participating in other armed robbery operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo, and another in Zuba, all within the FCT.
Arise Television management had described 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 noted that through her legal background and reporting skills, she advocated for out-of-school children and campaigned against sexual and gender-based violence.
The matter has been adjourned to February 2026 for further proceedings.
The command urged “members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious persons or packages through the Command’s emergency lines: 08032003913, 08028940883, or CRU FCT: 08107314192.”
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