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 their weapons from a supplier based in the Niger Republic.
The Command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, linking the suspects to the September 29, 2025, attack at Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Abuja, where Maduagwu and a security guard, Barnabas Danlami, were killed.
According to Adeh, preliminary investigations uncovered that the gang obtained its weapons — including a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, a pump-action gun, and a pistol — from an arms dealer operating along 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).
Adeh noted that the group confessed to carrying out several armed robberies across Abuja before the Katampe attack. “They have also confessed to participating in other armed robbery operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo, and another in Zuba, all within the FCT,” she said.
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Investigations further revealed that the security guard, Barnabas Danlami, was shot by one of the suspects. “Further investigations confirmed that the fatal shot which claimed the life of the security guard, Mr. Barnabas Danlami, was fired by one of the suspects, Shamsudeen Hassan,” Adeh stated.
She explained that following the killing, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ajao S. Adewale, launched a special investigation led by DCP Aliyu Abubakar and assisted by ACP Victor Godfrey to track and apprehend the gang.
“Following the tragic incident, the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ajao S. Adewale psc. mnips., established a Special Investigation Team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, DCP Aliyu Abubakar, and assisted by the Commander, Scorpion Squad, ACP Victor Godfrey, with a clear mandate to track down and dismantle the criminal network behind the attack. Leveraging digital reconstructive intelligence and conducting coordinated operations across the FCT, Nasarawa, and Kaduna States, the team successfully apprehended the suspects,” she said.
The police urged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities through designated emergency numbers.
Nigeria continues to grapple with the proliferation of illegal firearms, much of which flow through porous borders with neighbouring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. The United Nations had in 2016 warned that about 350 million of the 500 million illicit small arms circulating in West Africa were concentrated in Nigeria — nearly 70 percent of the regional total.
