The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has revealed that the armed robbery gang responsible for the killing of ARISE News anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, sourced their weapons from a supplier in Niger Republic.

The Command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this in a statement on Friday while announcing 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, lost their lives.

Adeh said preliminary investigations showed that the syndicate procured its firearms — including a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, a pump-action gun, and a pistol — from an arms dealer operating 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 Niger Republic,” Adeh said.

The police listed the arrested 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).

Adeh said the suspects confessed to carrying out operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo, and Zuba, before the robbery that claimed the lives of Arise News anchor and the security guard.

“They have also confessed to participating in other armed robbery operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo, and another in Zuba, all within the FCT,” the statement added.

Adeh said further investigations confirmed that Hassan Shamsudeen fired the shot that killed the security guard during the 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,” she said.

Explaining how the operation to apprehend the suspects was carried out, Adeh said the Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, deployed a special investigation team led by DCP Aliyu Abubakar and assisted by ACP Victor Godfrey to track down and dismantle the network following the murder.

“Following the tragic incident, the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ajao S. Adewale psc. mnips., established a Special Investigation Team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, DCP Aliyu Abubakar, and assisted by the Commander, Scorpion Squad, ACP Victor Godfrey, with a clear mandate to track down and dismantle the criminal network behind the attack. Leveraging digital reconstructive intelligence and conducting coordinated operations across the FCT, Nasarawa, and Kaduna states, the team successfully apprehended the suspects,” she said.

The police urged residents to remain alert and report suspicious movements through its emergency lines.

Nigeria has long struggled with the influx of illicit small arms and light weapons from neighbouring countries, especially Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.

In 2016, the United Nations raised concern over the widespread proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons in Nigeria, estimating that about 350 million of the 500 million such weapons circulating in West Africa were concentrated within the country.

The figure is about 70 per cent of the regional total. (The PUNCH)