The trial of 11 defendants accused of causing the death of Arise News anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, was on Monday adjourned until February 10 by the High Court sitting in Jabi, Abuja, following the absence of the defendants in court.
The case, which was scheduled for hearing, could not proceed after the accused persons were not produced before the court by officials of the correctional facility.
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 standing trial alongside them are Suleiman Badamosi, Zaradeen Mohammed, Musa Umar, Mashikur Jamil, Suleiman Sani, and Abubakar Usman.
Addressing the court, the Prosecution counsel, Adama Musa, explained that the defendants were absent because officials of the correctional centre claimed they were unaware of the hearing date.
“On the part of the prosecution, we are in court with four witnesses whom we went the extra mile to ensure are present; they abandoned their offices and are in court today,” Musa said.
After listening to the explanation, the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, adjourned the matter until Feb. 10 and directed that the witnesses return on the adjourned date for the continuation of the trial.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the prosecution alleged that the defendants, armed with firearms, machetes, knives, and charms, broke into Unique Apartment, Katampe, Abuja, on September 29, 2025.
According to the prosecution, the defendants allegedly caused Maduagwu’s death by forcing her to jump from a three-storey building, which resulted in fatal injuries.
They were also accused of shooting Barnabas Danlami, who later died from injuries sustained during the incident.
Musa further told the court that the defendants allegedly 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.
The prosecution also alleged that a Samsung S25 phone and a MacBook Air valued at ₦5.2 million were stolen from Sani Yusuf, while three mobile phones and a laptop were taken from another resident, David Osas.
Another resident of the apartment, Onah George, was reportedly robbed of his iPhone 14, iPad, and an Amazon Kardon speaker under the threat of death.
It was further alleged that the defendants were later arrested between Sept. 29 and Oct. 20, 2025, and found in possession of a pump-action gun and a fabricated AK-47 rifle without licences.
The offences, the prosecution said, contravened Sections 6(a)(b)(c) and 1(2)(a) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, 1997, as well as Section 221 of the Penal Code.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges at their arraignment.
The death of Somtochukwu had led to national outrage about the poor security architecture in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
