Bandits abduct Kebbi High Court judge from residence

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have abducted a Kebbi State High Court judge, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, from his residence in Bunza Local Government Area of the state.

According to a Vanguard report, the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday at the judge’s residence on Zogirma Road, shortly after he returned from Sokoto.

“He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen stormed his residence and took him away,” a source was quoted as saying. “They were shooting sporadically. Nobody in the house was hurt.”

Confirming the incident, the Kebbi State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bashir Usman, said Justice Bunza was abducted 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 operatives to rescue the judge.

“As we speak, our personnel are combing identified locations, including forest areas, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed,” the police spokesperson added.

A senior official of the Kebbi State High Court, who requested anonymity, described the abduction as “a sad and painful moment for the judiciary.”

“To hear that one of our judges was abducted at his residence is very disturbing,” the official said.

He added that the management of the High Court had met with heads of security agencies in the state to strategise on securing the judge’s immediate release.

The abduction comes amid growing insecurity in parts of Kebbi State and the North-West, where bandit attacks have increasingly targeted public officials, schools and communities.

Efforts to obtain comments from the Kebbi State Government were still ongoing as of the time of filing this report.