Gunmen suspected to be bandits have abducted a Kebbi State High Court judge, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, from his residence in Bunza Local Government.
The judge was reportedly kidnapped in the early hours of yesterday at his home along Zogirma Road, shortly after returning from Sokoto State.
Sources said the attackers stormed the residence, fired several gunshots to scare residents and whisked the judge away. Although the gunmen shot sporadically during the operation, no member of his family was injured.
“He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen stormed his residence and took him away,” a source said.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Kebbi State Command, SP Bashir Usman, said Justice Bunza was abducted around midnight.
“I can confirm that Hon. Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza was abducted from his residence in Bunza around midnight,” the police spokesman said.
He disclosed that upon receiving the report, the Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Muhammad Hadejia, immediately deployed tactical and intelligence teams to launch a rescue operation.
“As we speak, our personnel are combing identified locations, including forest areas, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed,” Usman said.
A senior official of the Kebbi State High Court, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, described the abduction as a tragic development for the state’s judiciary.
“Though I am not authorised to speak formally to the press, this is a painful moment for us. To hear that one of our judges was abducted from his residence is very disturbing,” the official said.
He added that the management of the Kebbi State High Court had already met with heads of security agencies in the state to strategise on measures to secure the judge’s immediate release.
The abduction has heightened concerns over the growing insecurity in parts of Kebbi State, with residents expressing fears over the increasing activities of armed bandits in the area. Security agencies have intensified search operations as efforts continue to rescue the judge unhurt.
