A 15-year-old girl, Endurance Sabon, has been brutally attacked and had her hand cut off in Goska community, Kaninkon Ward, Kafanchan, Jama’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, after her family rejected an alleged forced marriage proposal by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
A family member, who spoke with SaharaReporters on Saturday, said the assailants had earlier confronted Endurance’s mother while she was working on the family farm, demanding that the teenager be given to one of them in marriage.
According to the family’s account, the incident began at about 10:00 a.m. on Friday, while Endurance, her mother and other relatives were farming, when the men approached them and insisted the girl should be married off.
“We were working on the farm from about 10 a.m. that day. My mother and my niece were together. While they were there, some Fulani herdsmen approached them and started telling my mother to give them the young lady’s hand in marriage, saying she was very beautiful,” the source said.
“My mother thought they were joking. They kept speaking in their dialect and repeatedly called the girl by name.”
The family later finished work and waited for a motorcycle to take them home at about 6:30 p.m., unaware that the men had allegedly been trailing them through nearby bushes.
“After they finished their farm work, they waited for an okada rider to take them home. That was around 6:30 p.m.
“Unknown to them, the men followed them, went through the bush, and set an ambush near the farm. As they were walking — four of them in total — the attackers suddenly rushed them. The older women fell down, and the attackers shone a torchlight on one of them and realised she was not the girl they wanted,” the source explained.
The attackers allegedly searched again, identified Endurance, seized her and dragged her into the forest, where she was severely injured.
“They then searched again with the torchlight, found the young girl, grabbed her, and dragged her into the forest. There, they attacked her and inflicted a deep cut on her hand,” the family member said.
Endurance was initially taken to the General Hospital, Kafanchan, before being referred to a private facility for emergency care. Due to the severity of her injuries, she has since been referred to the Jos University Teaching Hospital for further treatment.
“She was later referred from General Hospital, Kafanchan, to Joyce Hospital for treatment,” the source added.
The family disclosed that five suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, noting that the group initially consisted of about nine men.
“Five persons were arrested. My mother knows them very well. Their houses are close to the farm,” the family member said.
They are now calling on the Kaduna State Government and security agencies to intervene decisively, provide medical support for the victim and ensure the suspects are prosecuted.
“We need help. The government should address the security situation in our community and assist with her medical bills,” the source appealed.
“Those arrested should not be released. The government should compensate the victim and ensure the perpetrators are punished so this will serve as a deterrent to others.”
The attack has heightened fear among residents of Goska community, who say insecurity linked to forced marriages and banditry remains a serious threat in the area.
Meanwhile, the family disclosed that a relative from Tudun Wada was attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen earlier this year, and his decomposed body was later found mutilated.
