ARISE News has announced that its late anchor, correspondent, and producer, Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, who was killed during a robbery attack in Abuja, will be buried on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
In a statement on Saturday, the station announced that an evening of tributes will be held on Sunday, October 12, at the THISDAY Dome, Central Business District, Abuja.
This will be followed by a service of songs on Wednesday, October 15, at the Corpus Christi Cathedral, Kaduna Street, Port Harcourt, before her funeral mass at St. Theresa Catholic Church, Agulu, Anambra State, preceding her interment on October 18.
Maduagwu, aged 29, was a lawyer, model, and journalist. She was killed during an armed robbery attack at her Katampe residence in Abuja. A security guard, Barnabas Danlami, also lost his life in the incident.
Meanwhile, The ICIR reported that the Federal Capital Territory Police Command had arrested 12 suspects in connection with the crime.
The Command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, said on Friday that the suspects sourced their weapons from a supplier in the Niger Republic.
“Preliminary investigations revealed 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,” Adeh stated.
She added that all the suspects, who are from Kaduna and Katsina States, confessed to obtaining their weapons from a yet-to-be-identified supplier in the Niger Republic.
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 and dismantle the criminal network.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.