The trial of the eleven defendants linked to the murder of Arise News journalist and anchor Somtochukwu Maduagwu during a robbery at her apartment continued Tuesday with the third prosecution witness giving details of how arrests were made.
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During proceedings at the High Court of the FCT sitting in Jabi, Maxwell Eje, an Assistant Superintendent of Police and member of the Scorpion Squad, CID-FCT Command, said the arrest of the defendants began with Shamsu Hassan.
The police discovered, on 30 September 2025, that Hassan had fled to Zaria, Kaduna State after the robbery at Unique Apartments in Katampe a day earlier, during which Miss Maduagwu jumped to her death from her three-storey apartment.
ASP Eje informed the court that Shamsu Hassan admitted to the crime and agreed to cooperate with the authorities to disclose the hideout of others.
Hassan informed on Sani Surajo, who was receiving treatment at an unnamed hospital in Gosa, a suburb along the airport road in Abuja.
Surajo was shocked at the sight of the Scorpion Squad operatives at the hospital, the witness said.
He too agreed to cooperate and assist with useful information on the whereabouts of others who took part in the robbery.
The witness testimony of ASP Maxwell Eje did not reach cross-examination as Dennis Abu, counsel for the seventh to eleventh defendants who also held brief for counsel to the first and third defendants sought leave of the judge, Mohammed Idris, to attend a medical appointment.
This prompted an adjournment until Thursday, 23 April, for conclusion of the evidence-in-chief for the third prosecution witness and for cross-examination.
The prosecutor had earlier informed the court that he had two witnesses available at the start of Tuesday’s proceedings.
The FCT Police Commissioner instituted the lawsuit against the 11 defendants charged with conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder in connection with the 29 September 2025 armed robbery at Unique Apartments in Katampe, Abuja, during which Arise News anchor/journalist Somtochukwu “Sommie” Maduagwu and security guard Barnabas Danlami were killed.
The trial began on 10 February 2026 after earlier delays due to the absence of defendants or other issues.
The first prosecution witness, Sani Yusuf, a civil engineer and former resident of Unique Apartments, and the second, Fatou Toborteh, another former resident, have so far testified about the events of 29 September.
Both described masked armed assailants raiding apartments but stated they could not identify any of the 11 defendants (who were masked during the attack).
The defendants are Shamsu Hassan, Sani Surajo, Hassan Isah, Abubakar Alkamu, Abdulsalam Saleh, and Suleiman Badamosi. Others are Zaradeen Mohammed, Musa Umar ‘Aka’ Small, Mashikur Jamil, Suleiman Sani, and Abubakar Usman.
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