A prosecution witness on Tuesday narrated how the police arrested suspected armed robbers linked to the killing of Arise News newscaster Somtochukwu Maduagwu, and recovered some of their weapons.
The assailants reportedly killed a security guard, Barnabas Danlami, during the armed robbery operation at Ms Maduagwu’s house in Katampe area of Abuja on 29 September 2025.
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Maxwell Eje, an assistant superintendent of police, testified as the third prosecution witness at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Jabi, Abuja, where 11 suspects alleged to be part of the robbery gang are facing trial.
Led in evidence by prosecution lawyer, Adama Musa, the witness said an English double-barrelled and an AK-47 used by the assailants were recovered following the confession of a suspect.
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He said the alleged confessed suspect, Sani Sirajo, “took us to Madalla in one uncompleted building to recover one of the arms; an English double-barrelled loaded with two cartridges inside a fence hole.”
From Madalla (in the neighbouring Niger State), he said, they proceeded to the bushes in Zuma Rock area “and recovered a fabricated AK-47 inside a fence hole”. The witness said they, from there, returned to his office.
Recalling the preliminary investigative steps he and his team took on the case on Tuesday, the witness said the case of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide was referred to his office on 30 September 2025, around 10:25 a.m.
On reaching the crime scene, he said he observed broken doors at the Unique Apartments in Katampe, Abuja.
He also recalled seeing a security guard that was shot.
He noted that “one of the ladies working for Arise Television” jumped down from the upstairs as a result of the robbery.
“As a result, she died,” he said.
Mr Eje told the court that an eyewitness, Fayel Joshua Musa, wrote a statement explaining what transpired on the night of the robbery.
The police also noted that a white Honda vehicle, whose plate number the witness could not recall, was carted away.
In October last year, less than two weeks after the incident, the police arrested 11 suspects in connection to the armed robbery and deaths of Ms Maduagwu, popularly called Sommie, and the security guard at her premises, Mr Danlami.
Months later, in January this year, the police arraigned the 11 suspects before the FCT High Court in Jabi for murder and armed robbery.
The defendants include Shamsu Hassan, Sani Sirajo, Hassan Isah, Abubakar Alkamu, Abdulsalam Saleh, and Suleiman Badamasi.
The rest are Zaharadeen Mohammed, Musa Umar, Mashkur Jamil, Suleiman Sani, and Abubakar Usman.
How suspects were arrested
The third prosecution witness also narrated how some of the suspects were arrested.
Mr Eje, who is attached to the Scorpion Squad Criminal Investigative Department (CID), FCT Police Command, said the police arrested the suspects after getting an intelligence report that one of the defendants was seen in Zaria, Kaduna State.
“Information reached my commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Godfrey, that one of the suspects, a defendant here, fled to Zaria in Kaduna State.”
The prosecution lawyer, Mr Musa, then asked the witness if the particular suspect was in court.
Looking in the direction of all 11 defendants, the witness answered in the affirmative and identified him as the first defendant, Shamsu Hassan.
He said Mr Hassan confessed that another suspect was at Gosa, Abuja, receiving treatment after being involved in an accident.
Testifying further, the witness said the police went to the hospital (name not given) and saw the second defendant, Sani Sirajo, “lying down in hospital on a drip receiving treatment.”
It was Mr Sirajo who told them about the whereabouts of the weapons recovered and led them to the site, the witness said.
The witness said, after recovering the weapons, Mr Sirajo also told the police of the location of other suspects.
“Some stayed in Deidei and Kubwa (both in Abuja), and we proceeded to the place. Getting there, we released his phone to him so he could communicate with them,” the police officer said.
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The judge, Mohammed Idris, suspended the hearing for Tuesday after a defence lawyer, Dennis Abdul, sought an adjournment to enable him to attend to an urgent matter elsewhere.
He then adjourned further hearing until Thursday (23 April).
In February, two witnesses, Sani Yusuf and Fatou Toborteh, who were both Ms Maduagwu’s neighbours at the Unique Apartment, Katampe, had taken turns to testify about the incident.
In their separate testimonies, they said they both heard female screams the night the incident happened.
Both witnesses, who were robbed that night, recalled seeing Ms Maduagwu with a serious head injury. They said he was later confirmed dead at the hospital.
However, they could not identify any of the defendants because the robbers were masked on the night of the robbery.
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