A prosecution witness has told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja how police tracked and arrested suspects linked to the killing of Somtochukwu Maduagwu, an anchor with Arise News.
Gatekeepers News reports that testifying on Tuesday, Maxwell Eje, an assistant superintendent of police attached to the scorpion squad of the FCT Criminal Investigation Department (CID), outlined the sequence of arrests following the September 29, 2025 robbery at Unique Apartments in Katampe, where the deceased resided.
Eje told the court that Shamsu Hassan was the first suspect arrested after investigators discovered he had fled to Zaria in Kaduna State a day after the incident. He said Hassan later confessed to participating in the robbery and provided information that led to the arrest of other suspects.
According to the witness, Hassan identified Sani Surajo, who was receiving treatment at a hospital in Gosa, along Airport Road in Abuja. Eje said Surajo was initially surprised when operatives arrived but later cooperated with investigators, offering details that aided further arrests.
Proceedings were, however, stalled before cross-examination after defence counsel Dennis Abu, representing several of the defendants, requested to be excused for a medical appointment.
The presiding judge, Mohammed Idris, granted the request and adjourned the case until April 23 for continuation of the witness’s testimony and cross-examination.
The FCT Police Command had earlier filed charges against 11 suspects, including conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder.
On September 29, 2025, about 15 armed men reportedly invaded Unique Apartments, a 16-flat building in the Katampe area of Abuja. During the attack, Maduagwu, popularly known as Sommie, died after she reportedly jumped from the building, while a security guard identified as Danlami was shot dead.
The trial, which began on February 10, 2026, has experienced initial delays due to the absence of some defendants.
At earlier sittings, Sani Yusuf and Fatou Toborteh, both former residents of the apartment complex, testified for the prosecution. They recounted the attack but said they could not identify any of the suspects, noting that the assailants wore masks.
Those standing trial include Shamsu Hassan, Sani Surajo, Hassan Isah, Abubakar Alkamu, Abdulsalam Saleh, Suleiman Badamosi, Zaradeen Mohammed, Musa Umar ‘Aka’ Small, Mashikur Jamil, Suleiman Sani, and Abubakar Usman.
