The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has said that the armed robbery gang behind the killing of Arise News anchor Somtochukwu Maduagwu got their weapons from a supplier in the Niger Republic.
Police spokesperson SP Josephine Adeh disclosed this in a statement on Friday while confirming the arrest of 12 suspects linked to the September 29, 2025 robbery and murder at Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Abuja, where Maduagwu and a security guard, Barnabas Danlami, were killed.
Adeh said the suspects confessed that they bought their guns — including a locally made AK-47 rifle, a pump-action gun, and a pistol — from an arms dealer who operates across the Nigeria–Niger border.
“All the suspects are from Kaduna and Katsina States and have confessed to obtaining their weapons from a yet-to-be-identified supplier in the Niger Republic,” Adeh said.
The police listed the suspects as Shamsudeen Hassan, Hassan Isah (22), Abubakar Alkamu (27), Sani Sirajo (20), Mashkur Jamilu (28), Suleiman Badamasi (21), Abdulsalam Saleh, Zaharadeen Muhammad (23), Musa Adamu (30), Sumayya Mohammed (27), Isah Abdulrahman (25), and Musa Umar (31).
According to Adeh, the gang had also carried out several robberies before the Katampe attack.
“They confessed to participating in other armed robbery operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo, and another in Zuba, all within the FCT,” she added.
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Police investigations revealed that Shamsudeen Hassan fired the shot that killed the security guard during the Katampe attack.
“Further investigations confirmed that the fatal shot which claimed the life of the security guard, Mr. Barnabas Danlami, was fired by one of the suspects, Shamsudeen Hassan,” Adeh said.
She explained that the arrest followed an intense manhunt launched by the FCT Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, who set up a Special Investigation Team led by DCP Aliyu Abubakar and ACP Victor Godfrey.
“Leveraging digital reconstructive intelligence and coordinated operations across the FCT, Nasarawa, and Kaduna States, the team successfully apprehended the suspects,” she said.
The police urged residents to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity using its emergency lines.
Nigeria has battled for years with the illegal flow of small arms from neighboring countries like Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. The United Nations had earlier warned that Nigeria accounts for most of the 350 million illicit weapons circulating in West Africa.
Adeh assured that investigations were ongoing and that the suspects would face prosecution once the inquiry is complete.