Bandits have abducted a Kebbi State High Court judge, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, in a brazen midnight raid on his residence in Bunza Local Government Area, deepening concerns over the worsening insecurity in Nigeria.
SaharaReporters gathered that the gunmen stormed the judge’s home along Zogirma Road at about 12:00 a.m. on Sunday, shortly after he returned from a trip to Sokoto State.
According to sources familiar with the incident, the attackers fired sporadically into the air before whisking the judge away. No member of his household was physically harmed during the operation.
“He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen invaded his residence and abducted him,” a source said.
“Immediately the incident happened, we alerted the relevant authorities, including the leadership of the High Court,” the source added.
Confirming the abduction, the Kebbi State Police Command spokesperson, SP Bashir Usman, said the judge was taken from his residence around midnight.
“I can confirm that Hon. Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza was abducted from his residence in Bunza around midnight,” Usman said.
He disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Muhammad Hadejia, had immediately deployed tactical and intelligence teams to track the abductors and rescue the judge.
“Our personnel are combing identified locations, including forest hideouts, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed,” the police spokesperson said.
A senior official of the Kebbi State High Court, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, described the incident as a devastating blow to the judiciary.
“This is a painful moment for us. The abduction of one of our judges from his own residence is deeply disturbing,” the official said.
He added that the High Court management had already met with security chiefs in the state to coordinate efforts aimed at securing Justice Bunza’s immediate release.
As of the time of filing this report, no group had claimed responsibility for the abduction.
The incident underscores the growing audacity of armed bandits, who continue to target prominent Nigerians despite repeated security operations across the North-West.
Similarly, on Saturday, SaharaReporters reported that bandits had abducted the Chairman of the Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Hon. Nura Umar Bungudu, after attacking his residence in a late-night raid that left four security personnel dead.
The attack occurred on Thursday night in the Zango area of Bungudu town, less than 20 kilometres from Gusau, the Zamfara State capital.
(SaharaReporters)
