By Oso Abidemi<\/p>\n
President Bola Tinubu has ordered a nationwide manhunt for the killers of Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, a rising anchor with Arise Television, who was murdered during a robbery attack at her Katampe residence in Abuja on Monday.<\/p>\n
Describing the incident as \u201cshocking, wicked, and unacceptable,\u201d the President said Nigeria had been deprived of a bright lawyer and journalist cut down in her prime.<\/p>\n
He directed security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators without delay and bring them to justice.<\/p>\n
Tinubu also extended condolences to Maduagwu\u2019s family, Arise News, and the broader media community, assuring that his administration would intensify efforts to secure lives and property.<\/p>\n
First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu also mourned the tragic loss, describing Maduagwu\u2019s death as \u201cpainful and most unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sent condolences to Arise Media Group Chairman, Chief Nduka Obaigbena, her family, friends, and colleagues, praying for comfort and strength for the bereaved.<\/p>\n
The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), expressed deep sadness, noting that journalism had lost a talented professional committed to giving voice to the voiceless.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement, NGE President Eze Anaba and General Secretary Onuoha Ukeh called her killing a \u201csenseless act\u201d that reflects Nigeria\u2019s worsening insecurity, urging government action to protect citizens.<\/p>\n
Civil society groups, including the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), and the Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development (FENRAD), condemned the killing, linking it to systemic failures in security and healthcare.<\/p>\n
HURIWA criticised Maitama General Hospital for allegedly insisting on a police report before treating Maduagwu, calling it \u201cbureaucratic indifference\u201d that cost her life.<\/p>\n
The group demanded accountability, insisting that the hospital\u2019s Chief Medical Director should be sacked.<\/p>\n
FENRAD described the tragedy as a grim reflection of Nigeria\u2019s deteriorating security situation, warning that if a journalist could be killed so brazenly in Abuja, nowhere in the country could be considered safe.<\/p>\n
Confirming the incident, the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Ajao Adewale, condemned the killing as \u201ccruel and senseless.\u201d<\/p>\n
He directed the deployment of intelligence and operational teams to track the assailants, urging residents to support investigations with useful information.<\/p>\n
The robbers, reportedly armed with point-of-sale (POS), machines, had invaded the estate, assaulted residents, and killed Maduagwu and her security guard.<\/p>\n
She was rushed to hospital but died after delays in receiving urgent medical attention.<\/p>\n
Her death has sparked nationwide outrage, with calls for justice and renewed demands for the government to urgently tackle insecurity and reform healthcare protocols that prioritise procedure over saving lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Oso Abidemi President Bola Tinubu has ordered a nationwide manhunt for the killers of Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, a rising anchor with Arise Television, who was murdered during a robbery attack at her Katampe residence in Abuja on Monday. Describing the incident as \u201cshocking, wicked, and unacceptable,\u201d the President said Nigeria had been deprived of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":75900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75901,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75899\/revisions\/75901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}