An FCT High Court sitting in Jabi, Abuja, has viewed part of a police interrogation video tendered as evidence in the trial of 11 defendants accused of involvement in the robbery that claimed the lives of Arise News journalist Somtochukwu Maduagwu and security guard Barnabas Danlami.
Justice Mohammed Idris watched about 20 minutes of the recording, which featured statements from the first two defendants, before defence lawyers requested that the playback be stopped to save time.
The defendants are facing nine counts bordering on criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and the killing of Maduagwu and Danlami at Unique Apartments in Katampe, Abuja, in September 2025.
They are Shamsu Hassan, Sani Sirajo, Hassan Isah, Abubakar Alkamu, Abdulsalam Saleh, Suleiman Badamasi, Zaharadeen Mohammed, Musa Umar, Mashkur Jamil, Suleiman Sani and Abubakar Usman.
All 11 defendants pleaded not guilty and remain remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
The prosecution counsel, Adama Musa, tendered the recording through Assistant Superintendent of Police Douglas Ishaku, the fourth prosecution witness.
Ishaku told the court that he recorded the defendants’ statements, conducted their interrogations in Hausa and translated the questions and responses into English.
Following the court’s admission of the recording as an exhibit, Justice Idris granted the prosecution’s request to play it on a laptop viewed by the judge and lawyers.
Defendant recounts alleged role in robbery
In the recording, the first defendant, Hassan, acknowledged that he was being investigated for armed robbery and named individuals he alleged had participated in the incident.
He said members of the group carried weapons and admitted firing at the security guard when the guard attempted to overpower another member of the group.
Hassan told investigators that he did not know the guard had subsequently died.
He also said a woman jumped from the building after the gunshot. His account differed from Ishaku’s earlier testimony, in which the police witness said a member of the group pushed Maduagwu from the building.
Hassan further stated that the group took valuables, including a vehicle, during the robbery and that he received ₦200,000 from the proceeds.
The second defendant, Sirajo, said in his recorded statement that he drove the vehicle used to transport the group to the apartment complex.
He explained that he collected the car in Abuja and picked up other members at different locations before proceeding to Katampe, adding that another member directed him to the property.
Sirajo said he parked outside the building and heard a gunshot during the robbery.
Defence questions Police investigation
After the playback, the prosecution concluded Ishaku’s examination-in-chief, allowing defence lawyers to begin cross-examining him on the investigation and the procedures used to obtain the defendants’ statements.
Counsel to Hassan, A.B. Samson, asked the witness when the written and recorded statements were taken.
Ishaku said he could not recall the dates.
The witness also confirmed that neither lawyers nor relatives of the defendants were present during the recording of their statements.
He acknowledged that the robbery victims had been unable to identify the defendants.
Under questioning by Sirajo’s lawyer, William Otabor, Ishaku said he could not recall the name of the hospital in Gosa-Toge, Abuja, where the second defendant was arrested, or the name of a staff member he spoke with there.
He said he knew the condition for which Sirajo was receiving treatment but had not included it in his witness statement.
Ishaku also confirmed that no gadgets taken during the robbery were recovered from Sirajo when he was arrested.
The witness said he did not accompany the exhibit keeper into the police exhibit room when a recovered firearm was stored.
Counsel to the third defendant, E.I. Onoja, adopted the questions put to the witness by lawyers representing the first and second defendants.
Responding to questions from Ojonomi Apeh, who represents the fourth to sixth defendants, Ishaku confirmed that the fifth defendant had denied participating in the robbery.
However, he maintained that investigators had found evidence linking the defendant to the group.
Justice Idris adjourned the proceedings until December 9 for the continuation of cross-examination.
Residents earlier testified in case
During earlier proceedings, another police witness, Maxwell Eje, testified about how investigators arrested suspects and recovered weapons allegedly connected to the robbery.
Two residents, Sani Yusuf and Fatou Toborteh, also told the court that they heard a woman screaming and later saw Maduagwu injured. She was subsequently confirmed dead at a hospital.
Both residents said they could not identify the defendants because the intruders had worn masks.
The case remains before the court, and the allegations against the defendants are yet to be determined.
