Father of late Arise TV journalist Somtochukwu Maduagwu has called for a full probe into her death.
He insisted reports claiming she jumped from a building were false and inconsistent.
Engineer Ifeanyi Maduagwu, father of late Arise TV journalist Somtochukwu Maduagwu, has urged the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to thoroughly investigate the true cause of his daughter’s death, insisting that existing reports about how she died “don’t add up.”
Somtochukwu died on the night of September 29 after alleged assailants att@cked her residence in Katampe, Abuja.While initial reports claimed she was killed during a robbery, other accounts suggested she fell from a three-storey building while attempting to escape the attackers, a version her father has strongly denied.
In an interview with BBC Igbo in Port Harcourt, Mr. Maduagwu said:“ What I know is that my daughter, Sommie Tochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, did not and would never jump from a building.”
He added, “I believe my daughter was killed. ”The grieving father described his daughter as intelligent, lively, and deeply afraid of heights, making the claim that she jumped highly improbable. He also expressed heartbreak over the delay in getting her help after the incident.
“I heard that when it happened, they called for help but none came quickly. Even when she was taken to the hospital, they delayed attending to her because they asked for identification papers. All those things broke my heart,” he said.
Recalling their last conversation, he said she had talked about her plans for the future. “We talked about so many things, but what made me happy was that she said she was ready to settle down soon.”
Mr. Maduagwu described Somtochukwu as compassionate and visionary, someone who cared deeply about others and dreamed of improving the country.
“Somtochukwu cared about others. When she woke up, all she thought about was how to make life better for people. She always said she wanted to change how things are done in Nigeria. She wanted to go into politics someday, maybe even become a senator.”
Somtochukwu was laid to rest on October 16, 2025, in her hometown in Anambra State, with family members, friends, and colleagues from the media industry in attendance to pay their final respects.
