Gunmen suspected to be bandits have abducted a Kebbi State High Court judge, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, in a midnight raid on his residence in Bunza Local Government Area of the state.
The judge was reportedly whisked away in the early hours of Sunday after armed assailants stormed his home along Zogirma Road shortly after he returned from a trip to Sokoto State.
According to sources, the attack occurred at about midnight, with the gunmen firing sporadically before abducting the judge.
“He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen stormed his residence and took him away,” a source said.
The source noted that although the attackers fired several gunshots during the operation, no member of the judge’s household was injured.
“Immediately the incident occurred, we reported to the appropriate authorities, including the leadership of the High Court,” the source added.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Kebbi State Police Command, SP Bashir Usman, said the command had launched an intensive rescue operation.
“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, immediately deployed tactical and intelligence teams to track down the kidnappers and secure the judge’s release.
“As we speak, our personnel are combing identified locations, including forest areas, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed,” the police spokesman stated.
A senior official of the Kebbi State High Court, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly on the matter, described the abduction as a devastating blow to the state’s judiciary.
“I am not authorized to speak formally, but this is a painful moment for us. To hear that one of our judge was abducted at his residence is very disturbing,” the official said.
He added that the management of the High Court had already 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 group had claimed responsibility for the abduction, while security operatives continued search-and-rescue operations across suspected hideouts.
