President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday joined hundreds of Nigerians in mourning Arise News anchor and reporter, Ms. Somtochukwu ‘Sommie’ Maduagwu, 29.
Sommie died on Monday after an armed robbery incident at her residence in the Katampe area of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
President Tinubu has directed security and law enforcement agencies to track down those responsible for Sommie’s death, a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said yesterday.
Describing the broadcaster’s death as cruel and condemnable, Onanuga said the President ordered investigators to conduct a swift probe to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
He assured Nigerians that his administration was committed to securing lives and property, adding that additional measures were being put in place to combat crime in all its forms.
Mrs. Tinubu described Sommie’s passing as painful and untimely.
In a post on her verified X handle, @SenRemiTinubu, the First Lady said she was saddened by the tragic loss of ‘one of our young and brilliant minds in the journalism profession’.
She said: ‘Her death is painful and quite unfortunate. She has been cut down in her prime. I condole with the Chairman of Arise News Media, Chief Nduka Obaigbena, her family, friends, colleagues, and loved ones. It is my hope and prayer that the perpetrators will be apprehended as soon as possible and brought to book.’
Also, FCT Police Commissioner Ajao Adewale has ordered a discreet and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sommie’s death.
The police chief assured Nigerians of the command’s commitment to ensuring justice.
A statement by the command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said the police commissioner had directed the deployment of intelligence and operational assets to identify, track, and apprehend those responsible for ‘this heinous crime’.
The police also dismissed allegations that the team, which responded to the distress call, turned down appeals to take Sommie to the hospital on the grounds that they had no fuel.
Also, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Minister for Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris; the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) described her death as regrettable.
According to Sanwo-Olu, Sommie was a rising star in the media, and she performed her duties with passion and professionalism.
Idris described her as a vibrant and dedicated professional whose work resonated with audiences across Nigeria and beyond.
The minister assured fellow citizens that a swift investigation would be carried out on the incident.
The FCT Council of the NUJ called for a forensic investigation, saying the incident highlighted Nigeria’s growing insecurity and the need for accountability.
In a statement by its President, Afam Osigwe (SAN), the NBA described Sommie’s death as cruel, expressing concern over reports of alleged medical negligence.
‘The suggestion that her chances of survival may have been compromised by a hospital’s failure to act urgently is shocking and demands accountability,’ said the NBA.
The body of Nigerian lawyers called for a thorough investigation into the robbery and the hospital’s handling of the case.
It stressed that Nigerians must not only be safe from insecurity but must also trust that healthcare institutions would save lives during emergencies.
Also, there are new facts about how the broadcaster died in Abuja.
Giving details during the Arise TV’s ‘Morning Show’, Sommie’s colleague, Ojy Okpe, said she jumped from her room after learning that 14 armed robbers had stormed the building.
Though she survived the fall, she reportedly died after hospital workers allegedly refused to give her immediate treatment.
Her colleagues accused Maitama Hospital in Abuja of negligence, claiming that Sommie and a security guard injured during the attack were denied urgent care because the hospital workers demanded identification documents before treatment.
Ojy Okpe and Reuben Abati described the incident as a preventable tragedy linked to systemic failures in Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
Abati condemned the hospital’s conduct, calling it a violation of medical ethics and Nigerian law, which mandates that accident and emergency victims be treated immediately.