Absence of defendants stalls trial of Arise News anchor’s death

The trial of 11 defendants accused of causing the death of Arise News anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, was stalled on Monday at the High Court in Jabi, Abuja, following their absence in court.

The Commissioner of Police had charged Shamsu Hassan, Sani Surajo, Hassan Isah, Abubakar Alkamu and Abdulsalam Saleh with nine counts bordering on armed robbery and culpable homicide punishable by death.

Others charged were Suleiman Badamosi, Zaradeen Mohammed, Musa Umar, Mashikur Jamil, Suleiman Sani, and Abubakar Usman.

The Prosecution counsel, Adama Musa, told the court that the defendants were not produced because the correctional facility officers claimed they were unaware of the hearing date.

“On the part of the prosecution, we are in court with four witnesses who we went the extra mile to ensure are present, they abandoned their offices and are in court today,” Musa said.

The trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris adjourned the matter until Feb. 10 and urged the witnesses to return to court on that day for the trial.

Our correspondent reports that the prosecution alleged that the defendants, armed with firearms, machetes, knives, and charms, broke into Unique Apartment, Katampe, Abuja, on Sept. 29, 2025.

They allegedly caused Maduagwu’s death by forcing her to jump from a three-storey building, leading to fatal injuries.

The defendants were also accused of shooting Barnabas Danlami, who later died from his injuries.

Musa further alleged that the defendants robbed Ms. Fatou Toborteh of a Lenovo laptop, ₦80,000 cash, an iPhone, a Samsung phone, and a white Honda CRV after threatening to kill her and her family.

They also allegedly stole a Samsung S25 phone and a MacBook Air phone valued at ₦5.2 million from Sani Yusuf, as well as three mobile phones and a laptop from David Osas, all residents of the said apartment.

Another resident, Onah George, was reportedly robbed of his iPhone 14, iPad, and an Amazon Kardon speaker under threat of death.

He said that the defendants were later arrested in possession of a pump-action gun and a fabricated AK-47 rifle without licences between Sept. 29 and Oct. 20, 2025.

The offences, according to the prosecution, contravened Sections 6(a)(b)(c), 1(2)(a) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, 1997, and Section 221 of the Penal Code.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were arraigned.