Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and the country’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu have condemned the killing of Arise News Television anchor, Ms. Somtochukwu “Sommie” Maduagwu, who was murdered during a robbery attack at her residence in Katampe, Abuja.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President described the incident as “cruel and condemnable,” noting that Maduagwu was a “promising professional journalist whose life was cut short in a most painful manner.”
Tinubu extended heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased, the management and staff of Arise News Television, and the entire Nigerian media fraternity.
“The security and law enforcement agencies should conduct a quick and thorough investigation into the incident and ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended and brought to justice without delay,” the President said.
Also reacting, the Nigerian First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, described Maduagwu’s death as “painful and unfortunate,” lamenting that the young journalist was “cut down in her prime.”
“I woke up to the sad News of the unfortunate and untimely death of one of our young and brilliant minds in the journalism profession, Somtochukwu Maduagwu. 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,” the First Lady said.
“May her soul rest in peace, and may God give her family, and all her dear ones the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss,” she added.
The late Maduagwu, fondly called “Sommie” by colleagues, was widely regarded as a brilliant and rising figure in broadcast journalism before her tragic death.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
