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A court in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, on Wednesday, arraigned eleven suspects over the murder of Arise News journalist Somtochukwu Maduagwu and a security guard, Barnabas Danlami.
The FCT Police Command confirmed the arraignment, stating that prosecutors charged the suspects with criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and murder.
Maduagwu, an anchor, reporter and producer with Arise News, died alongside Danlami during a robbery at Unique Apartments in Katampe Extension, Mabushi, Abuja, in the early hours of 29 September 2025.
Those arraigned are Shamsu Hassan, Sani Sirajo, Hassan Isah, Abubakar Alkamu, Abdulsalam Saleh, Suleiman Badamasi, Zaharadeen Mohammed, Musa Umar, also known as “Small”, Mashkur Jamil, Suleiman Sani and Abubakar Usman.
Police said the suspects faced a nine-count charge bordering on conspiracy, armed robbery and murder.
The 29-year-old journalist lost her life after armed robbers stormed the three-storey apartment complex around 3:30 am, moving from flat to flat and dispossessing residents of their belongings.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, said officers found Maduagwu unconscious at the scene and rushed her to Maitama General Hospital, where doctors attempted resuscitation, but she died shortly after. He described the killing as cruel and senseless.
Police spokesperson SP Josephine Adeh said preliminary investigations showed that the gang sourced its weapons from an arms dealer operating along the Nigeria–Niger border.
Recovered items included 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 admitted involvement in other robberies in Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo and another location in Zuba within the FCT.
Arise Television management described Maduagwu as intelligent, courageous and outstanding, noting that she joined the station in September 2024 after representing Nigeria at the Miss Tourism World pageant in China in 2023. The station said she used her legal training and journalism to advocate for out-of-school children and campaign against sexual and gender-based violence.
The court adjourned the case to February 2026 for further proceedings, while police urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity through the command’s emergency lines.
