The Nigeria Police Force has revealed that the armed robbers involved in the tragic killing of Arise News television anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, obtained their weapons from an arms dealer based in the Niger Republic.
Maduagwu, aged 29, reportedly lost her life on September 29 after jumping from a building during a violent robbery attack at her residence in Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Abuja. During the same incident, the estate’s security guard, Barnabas Danlami, was also shot dead by the assailants.
Speaking on Thursday, the spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed that 12 suspects had been arrested in connection with the case. She disclosed that the suspects admitted to purchasing their weapons — including a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, a pump-action gun, and a pistol from a firearms dealer along the Nigeria Niger Republic border.
“All the suspects are from Kaduna and Katsina States and confessed to sourcing their weapons from a yet to be identified supplier in the Niger Republic,” Adeh stated.
According to her, the suspects also confessed to carrying out several other armed robbery operations across the Federal Capital Territory, including attacks in Katampe I, a hotel in Apo, and another location in Zuba.
Adeh further revealed that police investigations confirmed that the fatal shot which killed the estate’s security guard, Mr. Barnabas Danlami, was fired by one of the arrested suspects identified as Shamsudeen Hassan.
The police say investigations are ongoing to apprehend the arms supplier and dismantle the wider network involved in cross-border arms trafficking
