Officers of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, Abuja, have arrested 12 suspected armed robbers responsible for the robbery leading to the death of Arise News anchor, Somtochukwu Christella Maduagwu, and a security guard, Barnabas Danlami, at Unique Apartments, Gishiri Village, Katampe District, Abuja.
The arrest came after a directive from the FCT Commissioner of Police to identify and apprehend those behind the tragic incident, which occurred on September 29, at about 3:30 a.m.
The command said in a statement on Wednesday, that operatives of the Scorpion Squad, led by ACP Victor Godfrey, acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence provided by Giga Forensics, a subsidiary of EIB STRATOC, successfully tracked down and arrested the 12 suspects across multiple locations.
The suspects were identified as: Shamsudeen Hassan (Malumfashi LGA, Katsina State); Hassan Isah, 22 (Zaria, Kaduna State); Abubakar Alkamu a.k.a. Abba, 27 (Musawa LGA, Katsina State); Sani Sirajo a.k.a. Dan Borume, 20 (Malumfashi LGA, Katsina State); Mashkur Jamilu a.k.a. Abba, 28 (Igabi LGA, Kaduna State); Suleiman Badamasi a.k.a. Dan-Sule, 21 (Malumfashi LGA, Katsina State); Abdul Salam Saleh a.k.a. Na-Durudu (Katsina LGA, Katsina State); Zaharadeen Muhammad a.k.a. Gwaska, 23 (Chikun LGA, Kaduna State); Musa Adamu a.k.a. Musa Hassan, 30 (Malumfashi LGA, Katsina State); Sumayya Mohammed a.k.a. Baby, 27 (Sammaka LGA, Kaduna State); Isah Abdulrahman a.k.a. Abbati, 25 (Zaria LGA, Kaduna State); Musa Umar a.k.a. Small, 31 (Maiduguri LGA, Borno State).
As stated by the police, four of the suspects, Shamsudeen Hassan, Abubakar Alkamu, Sani Sirajo, and another, were first arrested after the victims’ mobile phones were tracked to them.
During interrogation, Hassan confessed to shooting the security guard, Danlami, when he attempted to stop the robbers from entering the apartment.
Sirajo, on his part, admitted trying to prevent Ms. Maduagwu from falling off the three-storey building but said he was “overwhelmed by her weight.”
Investigators said the suspects also confessed to selling some of the stolen property and sharing the proceeds, with each reportedly receiving ₦200,000.