In the ongoing trial of 11 suspects linked to the murder of ARISE News anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, a police officer has told a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that the journalist was pushed to her death.
This was disclosed at the resumed trial on Tuesday, exactly one year after a gang of robbers attacked Unique Apartments in Katampe, Abuja. During the attack, Miss Maduagwu, 29, fell from her three-storey apartment, while a security guard on duty, Barnabas Danlami, was shot and killed.
In his witness testimony, Douglas Ishaku, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, told the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris that the eleven defendants are part of a larger criminal syndicate that engage in criminal activities in Abuja, according to investigations.
ASP Ishaku, who is part of a special police unit known as the Scorpion Squad, told the court that he and his colleague, Maxwell Eje, took the confessional statements of the defendants, who owned up to their crime.
While being led in evidence by the lead prosecutor, Adama Musa, the witness, who is the fourth called so far, said only eight of the eleven defendants were part of the robbery of 29th September 2025 at Unique Apartments.
The Assistant Superintendent of Police also informed the court that, based on investigation, it was the first defendant, Shamsu Hassan, who shot the security guard during the robbery. Hassan, the witness further added, owns a fabricated AK-47 rifle used during the robbery.
The witness also said a foreign-made pump-action rifle used during the robbery belonged to the second defendant, Sani Surajo. Both weapons, along with daggers and machetes allegedly used by the defendants, were recovered by the police during their arrest.
ASP Ishaku informed the court that Surajo had previously been arrested by the Intelligence Response Team of the Police for armed robbery and said that was his first encounter with the defendant.
He further told the court that one Dogo, a suspect currently at large, drove away a white Honda CR-V belonging to one of the former residents of Unique Apartments, Fatou Toborteh. Mrs Toborteh is the second witness called by the prosecution. The assailants made away with cash, laptops and phones during the robbery.
Tuesday’s proceedings ended at the instance of the prosecutor, who intends to tender a video recording of the defendants when their confessional statements were being documented.
The judge granted the request of the prosecution and fixed October 7 for continuation of the trial.
END
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