The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested 12 suspects in connection with the armed robbery and killing of ARISE News anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, revealing that the gang sourced its weapons from a supplier in the Niger Republic.
The Command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, noting that the suspects were apprehended following a special operation led by senior officers.
Maduagwu and a security guard, Barnabas Danlami, were killed on September 29, 2025, during a robbery attack at Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Abuja.
According to Adeh, preliminary investigations revealed that the gang procured its firearms — including a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, a pump-action gun, and a pistol — from an arms dealer operating across the Nigeria–Niger border.
“All the suspects are from Kaduna and Katsina States and have confessed to obtaining their weapons from a yet-to-be-identified supplier in the Niger Republic,” Adeh said.
The suspects were identified as Shamsudeen Hassan, Hassan Isah (22), Abubakar Alkamu (27), Sani Sirajo (20), Mashkur Jamilu (28), Suleiman Badamasi (21), Abdulsalam Saleh, Zaharadeen Muhammad (23), Musa Adamu (30), Sumayya Mohammed (27), Isah Abdulrahman (25), and Musa Umar (31).
The police said the suspects admitted to carrying out several armed robbery operations in the FCT, including at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo, and another in Zuba, before the Katampe Extension attack that led to the deaths of Maduagwu and Danlami.
Further investigations, according to Adeh, confirmed that Shamsudeen Hassan fired the fatal shot that killed the security guard during the operation.
“Further investigations confirmed that the fatal shot which claimed the life of Mr. Barnabas Danlami was fired by one of the suspects, Shamsudeen Hassan,” Adeh stated.
She explained that the arrest followed a coordinated intelligence-led operation. The FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Ajao S. Adewale, deployed a special investigation team led by DCP Aliyu Abubakar and supported by ACP Victor Godfrey. The team leveraged digital reconstructive intelligence and conducted simultaneous raids across the FCT, Nasarawa, and Kaduna States, leading to the successful dismantling of the gang.
The Command urged residents to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activities through its emergency lines.
Nigeria has faced a persistent challenge with the influx of illicit small arms and light weapons from neighbouring countries, particularly Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. In 2016, the United Nations estimated that about 350 million of the 500 million illicit weapons circulating in West Africa were in Nigeria — roughly 70 per cent of the regional total.
