Witnesses Tell Court How They Found Arise TV Reporter Somtochukwu ‘Sommie’ Maduagwu Face Down In Pool Of Blood After Katampe Robbery

Abuja, Nigeria – Two prosecution witnesses on Tuesday gave accounts before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, how they found the lifeless body of Arise Television news correspondent, Somtochukwu “Sommie” Maduagwu, lying face down with severe head injuries in a pool of blood after a deadly early-morning robbery attack at her Katampe residence.

The testimonies were presented in the ongoing trial of 11 suspects standing trial on a nine-count amended charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and murder over the death of the 29-year-old journalist.

Maduagwu died on September 29, 2025, after she reportedly jumped from a three-storey building at Unique Apartments, Katampe, Abuja, while attempting to escape armed robbers who had invaded the estate in the early hours of the day.

The two witnesses, who testified as Prosecution Witness 1 (PW1) and Prosecution Witness 2 (PW2), however, told the court that they could not identify any of the defendants as being among the assailants.

Giving his evidence, PW1, Sani Yusuf, narrated that the incident occurred between 3:00 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. on September 29, 2025.

He said he was asleep in his bedroom when strange noises jolted him awake.

“I was asleep when I heard some noise around 2:30 a.m. I then heard voices and a loud bang that sounded like a gunshot,” Yusuf told the court. “I also heard someone speaking Hausa, shouting, ‘Where are you? Come out!’”

Yusuf said moments later, two masked men forced their way into his apartment. According to him, one of the intruders was holding a torchlight, while the other carried an object that looked like a knife.

“They ransacked my apartment and demanded my Samsung Galaxy S25 phone and my MacBook Air laptop,” he said, adding that the robbers went on to search other rooms in the apartment before leaving.

Shortly after the assailants fled, Yusuf said he heard frantic shouts from outside the building.

“The security guard, Musa Joshua, was shouting that the other security guard, Barnabas, had been shot. By that time, the assailants had already left,” he testified.

Yusuf told the court that when he rushed downstairs to the ground floor, he made a horrifying discovery.

“I saw the body of a female tenant lying face down in a pool of blood. At that time, I assumed she had also been shot,” he said.

He said residents of the estate immediately mobilised to rush the injured security guard, Barnabas, to Maitama District Hospital.

“They wanted me to stay back, but I returned to the house in case I was needed,” Yusuf said. “When I later went back to the hospital around 4:00 a.m., I saw the same body I had earlier seen at the house on a gurney.”

According to him, it was at the hospital that he was able to recognise the victim more clearly.

“I could recognise her then because she was no longer face down,” he said, adding that he noticed she had sustained severe head injuries.

Yusuf further told the court that Barnabas later died at the hospital despite efforts to save him.

“I went inside to check on Barnabas, but after some time, he died,” he said.

He said he later returned to the Katampe apartment to retrieve means of identification for both deceased victims.

“I recognised her from the estate group chat,” Yusuf said, explaining that he later learnt the woman who fell from the building was Somtochukwu Maduagwu, his neighbour and an Arise Television correspondent.

The second prosecution witness, a female resident of the estate, also gave a detailed account of how armed robbers stormed her apartment on the same night, terrorising her family and carting away valuables.

Like PW1, she told the court that she could not recognise any of the 11 defendants.

She said she was asleep in her room with her aunt and her aunt’s children, including a 14-year-old girl, when the robbers broke into their apartment.

“They forced their way in and demanded phones and money,” she said. “I pointed to my phone on the floor. I did not have cash in my room.”

She told the court that one of the robbers searched her drawer and found her wallet and car key.

“Later, I found my wallet at the entrance with my debit card on the floor,” she said.

According to her, the assailant later discovered N75,000 in a pouch beside her bed and took it before going downstairs to confirm the car using the remote control.

PW2 further testified that another robber entered her aunt’s room and, at gunpoint, collected a gold-plated wristwatch, an iPhone 11 Pro Max and a Samsung phone.

She said yet another suspect entered the room of her 14-year-old cousin, stealing her laptop, identified as a Lenovo FreePad, along with some cash.

The witness added that her aunt sustained a knee injury during the ordeal and was hospitalised for three days.

She told the court that the robbers eventually fled the estate in her white Honda CR-V.

“When they left, we went to the balcony and saw Sommie lying on the ground with blood around her head. We did not know it was her at first,” she said.

She said it was later confirmed by neighbours that the woman who fell from the third floor was Somtochukwu Maduagwu, while the security guard, Barnabas, had been shot by the attackers.

According to her, both victims were rushed to the hospital, where they were later confirmed dead.

None of the defence counsel representing the 11 defendants cross-examined the witnesses after their testimonies.

After listening to the witnesses, the trial judge adjourned the matter until February 12, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.