Police arrest 12 suspects for robbery that killed Arise News anchor Sommie

Police have arrested suspected members of the robbery gang whose activities led to the death of Ms. Somtochukwu Maduagwu,aka Sommie.

Sommie and a security guard Mr. Barnabas Danlami died during  the robbery at the Katampe area of Abuja on September 29, 2025.

It was stated in a police report on the crime dated October 9, 2025, that the robbery suspects were arrested by operatives of the Scorpion Squad of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.

According to the ‘EIB’ report, the police team arrested 12 members of the gang by tracking telephone numbers of the phones stolen from the victims on the day of the robbery.

It was further stated that investigative efforts are ongoing to track down and arrest other fleeing members of the gang.

It was furthers said that on October 8, 2025, operatives acting on further intelligence intercepted the remaining gang members  including Musa Umar and Hassan Isah  while they were en route to another planned robbery operation in Maitama, Abuja.

The police listed the 12 suspects in custody as Shamsudeen Hassan, male, Malumfashi LGA, Katsina State; Hassan Isah, male, 22, Zaria, Kaduna State; Abubakar Alkamu (alias Abba), male, 27, Musawa LGA, Katsina State; Sani Sirajo (alias Dan Borume), male, 20, Malumfashi LGA, Katsina State; Mashkur Jamilu (alias Abba), male, 28, Igabi LGA, Kaduna State; Suleiman Badamasi (alias Dan-Sule), male, 21, Malumfashi LGA, Katsina State, and Abdulsalam Saleh (alias Na-Durudu), male, Katsina LGA, Katsina State.

Others are Zaharadeen Muhammad (alias Gwaska), male, 23, Chikun LGA, Kaduna State; Musa Adamu (alias Musa Hassan), male, 30, Malumfashi LGA, Katsina State; Sumayya Mohammed (alias Baby), male, 27, Saminaka LGA, Kaduna State; Isah Abdulrahman (alias Abbati), male, 25, Zaria LGA, Kaduna State, and Musa Umar (alias Small), male, 31, Maiduguri LGA, Borno State.

The robbers had invaded Unique Apartments, Gishiri Village, Katampe District, Abuja, on September 29, 2025, around 3.30 a.m, killed the security man on duty while the frightened Arise TV news anchor jumped to her death from the third floor of the house.

The Police explained that shortly after the robbery incident, four of the suspects — Shamsudeen Hassan, Abubakar Alkamu, Sani Sirajo, and one other — were tracked and arrested through stolen phone tracing and interception conducted by EIB.

According to the police, Shamsudeen Hassan confessed to shooting the security guard, Mr. Danlami, because  he tried to prevent them (robbers) from gaining access to the apartment.

Sani Sirajo admitted he attempted to restrain Ms. Maduagwu as she struggled during the attack but claimed she fell from the building.

The suspects also confessed to stealing the victims’ phones and a white Honda CR-V, which Shamsudeen said he drove away from the scene.

Each suspect reportedly received N200,000 as their share of the proceeds from the robbery.

Items recovered from the suspects include: One (1) fabricated AK-47 rifle, 36 rounds of 9mm live ammunition, one locally-made pistol, one pump-action gun, two live cartridges, four mobile phones belonging to victims, two sharp knives, one cutlass, nine torch lights used during the operation.