The trial of the eleven accused persons linked to the murder of Arise News journalist and anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, during a robbery at her apartment, continued on Tuesday, with the third prosecution witness giving details of how arrests were made.
An Assistant Superintendent of Police and member of the Scorpion Squad, CID FCT Command, Mr Maxwell Eje, at Tuesday’s proceedings, told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory that the arrest of the accused persons began with Shamsu Hassan.
He said that the police discovered on September 30 that Hassan had fled to Zaria 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 hideouts of others.
Hassan mentioned one 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 security operatives of the Scorpion Squad at the hospital where he was receiving treatment,” 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 testimony of ASP Maxwell Eje did not get to the point of 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, April 23, for the conclusion of the evidence-in-chief of 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 had filed criminal charges against the 11 defendants bordering on conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder in connection with the September 29, 2025, armed robbery at Unique Apartments in Katampe, Abuja.
It was during the incident that Arise News anchor/journalist Somtochukwu “Sommie” Maduagwu and security guard Barnabas Danlami were killed.
The trial began on February 10, 2026, after earlier delays due to the absence of defendants and 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 September 29.
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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