The Nigeria Police Force says it has uncovered credible leads on the gun suppliers who armed the suspects allegedly responsible for the killing of Arise News anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu.
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command had earlier announced the arrest of 12 suspects in connection with the September 29, 2025, robbery and murder at Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Abuja, where Maduagwu and a security guard, Barnabas Danlami, were killed.
The gang was said to have sourced their weapons from a supplier in Niger Republic.
Those arrested include 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).
Giving an update on Saturday while parading nine of the suspects in Abuja, Force spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, said investigators had identified the locations of some of the gunrunners linked to the gang and would soon make arrests.
“We are yet to arrest a suspect in that regard, but we have very credible leads we are working on. We already know the location of some of the gunrunners and suppliers, and we assure Nigerians that in our subsequent updates, we will be able to tell you how far we have come,” Hundeyin said.
He said the police recovered one locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, a pump-action rifle, a locally made pistol, 36 rounds of 9mm ammunition, two live cartridges, four mobile phones, two knives, one cutlass, and two flashlights from the suspects.
Hundeyin added that nine suspects were in custody, while three others were receiving treatment for gunshot injuries sustained during their arrest.
“Our investigation also revealed that Shamsudeen Hassan was the particular suspect that fired the shot that killed Mr. Barnabas Danlami,” he said.
He explained that the police decided to parade the suspects despite its standing rule against such practice because of the huge public interest in the case.
“In case you are wondering why we are parading these suspects, despite our standard policy on not parading suspects, it is because this is actually a public interest story. We would like Nigerians to see that the Nigeria Police Force delivered on its promise to get these suspects arrested,” he said.
Hundeyin assured that the suspects would be prosecuted once investigations were concluded.
“It doesn’t stop there. These suspects will definitely be prosecuted as soon as we wrap up our investigation. Justice must be served. Mr. Somtochukwu and Mr. Danlami must get justice this time,” he added.
He further said the Force, under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, would continue to deploy all available resources to ensure citizens’ safety, urging the public to remain vigilant and support the police with timely and credible information.
Saturday’s parade marks a major breakthrough in the case, which has drawn national attention to the growing insecurity and flow of illegal arms across Nigeria’s borders.
