Police arrest suspects involved in death of Arise TV presenter

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has confirmed the arrest of 12 suspects involved in the armed robbery incident that led to the death of Arise TV presenter, Somtochukwu Maduagwu. 

According to the police, the suspects are: Shamsudeen Hassan ‘m’ from Katsina State, Hassan Isah ‘m’, 22 years from Kaduna, Abubakar Alkamu a.k.a. abba ‘m’, 27 years from Katsina, Sani Sirajo a.k.a. dan borume ‘m’ 20 years from Katsina, Mashkur Jamilu a.k.a. abba ‘m’ 28 years from Kaduna and Suleiman Badamasi a.k.a. dan-sule ‘m’ 21 years from Katsina.

Others are Abdul Salam saleh a.k.a. na-durudu ‘m’ from Katsina, Zaharadeen Muhammad a.k.a. gwaska ‘m’ 23 years from Kaduna, Musa adamu a.k.a. musa hassan ‘m’ 30 years from Katsina, Sumayya Mohammed a.k.a. baby ‘m’ 27 years from Kaduna, Isah Abdulrahman a.k.a. abbati ‘m’, 25 years from Kaduna and Musa Umar a.k.a. small ‘m’ 31 years from Borno.

The police added that shortly after the robbery incident, four (4) of the suspects Shamsudeen Hassan, Alkamu, Sirajo and one other person were apprehended through the tracking of phones stollen from the apartment during the robbery.

“During interrogation, Shamsudeen Hassan confessed that he shot the security guard when he attempted to prevent them from gaining access to the apartment,” the statement read.

“Sani Sirajo confessed to have tried to hold Somtochukwu Christella Maduagwu from falling off the three-storey building but was overwhelmed by her weight. 

“Shamsudeen further confessed that he drove the white honda CR-V jeep out of the apartment after the operation. The four suspects admitted that they each received ₦200,000 from the proceeds of the crime.”

Recovered exhibits include: One fabricated ak-47 rifle, 36 rounds of 9mm live ammunition, one locally made pistol, one pump-action gun, two live cartridges, four mobile phones of the victims, two sharp knives, one cutlass and nine torchlights used during the operation.

The police said: “In continuation of investigations, yesterday, 08/10/2025, acting on a tip-off and actionable digital intelligence also provided by us, the remaining members of the gang, Musa umar a.k.a. small, Hassan Isah and other accomplices involved in the Gishiri robbery were intercepted while enroute to an already planned armed robbery operation scheduled to hold at maitama in the early hours of this morning.”

According to the statement, all suspects have confessed to the crimes while investigation is ongoing.