ARISE News has announced burial plans for its late anchor, journalist, and producer, Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, whom armed robbers tragically killed on September 29, 2025.
The station announced in a video released on Saturday that it will hold “an evening of tributes on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at the THISDAY Dome, Central Business District, Abuja”
The station added that it will hold a service of songs on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at the Corpus Christi Cathedral, Kaduna Street, Port Harcourt.
ARISE News further announced, “Her internment in Anambra State on Saturday, October 18, will be preceded by a funeral mass at St. Theresa Catholic Church, Agulu.”
Maduagwu, aged 29, was a model, lawyer, and journalist known for her professionalism and storytelling skills. She died during a robbery at her Katampe, Abuja residence, where armed robbers killed security guard Barnabas Danlami.
Police have since arrested twelve suspects connected to the attack. SP Josephine Adeh, spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, confirmed the arrests in a statement on Friday.
“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,” Adeh said.
She also revealed, “All suspects admitted to acquiring their weapons from an unidentified supplier in the Niger Republic and are from Kaduna and Katsina States.”
ACP Victor Godfrey and DCP Aliyu Abubakar led the special team that captured the suspects under the directive of Commissioner of Police Ajao Adewale. The operation successfully dismantled the network behind the crime.
Maduagwu’s death has continued to draw grief across Nigeria’s media industry. Her burial events, announced by ARISE News, aim to celebrate her life, courage, and dedication to journalism.
