A judge of the Kebbi State High Court, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, has been abducted by suspected bandits from his residence in Bunza Local Government Area of the state.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the gunmen stormed the judge’s home along Zogirma Road at about midnight on Sunday, shortly after he returned from a trip to Sokoto State.
Sources said the assailants fired sporadically to scare residents before whisking the judge away. No member of his family was reportedly injured during the attack.
“He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen invaded his residence and abducted him,” a source familiar with the incident said.
The source added that the matter was immediately reported to security agencies and the leadership of the Kebbi State High Court.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Kebbi State Police Command, SP Bashir Usman, said the command had launched a coordinated operation to rescue the judge.
“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, Umar Muhammad Hadejia, had deployed tactical and intelligence teams to track down the kidnappers and secure the judge’s safe release.
“Our personnel are combing identified locations, including forest areas, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed,” the police spokesman added.
A senior official of the Kebbi State High Court, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, described the abduction as a disturbing development for the judiciary.
“This is a painful moment for us. To hear that one of our judges was abducted at his residence is deeply troubling,” 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 efforts to secure the judge’s immediate release.
As of the time of filing this report, no individual or group had claimed responsibility for the abduction.
The latest incident adds to the growing wave of kidnappings targeting prominent Nigerians despite ongoing security operations against armed gangs across the North-West.
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