In a daring assault on Nigeria’s judiciary, heavily armed gunmen have abducted Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, a prominent judge of the Kebbi State High Court.
Reports said the jurist was violently seized by the gunmen, suspected to be bandits, in the early hours of Sunday during a targeted raid on his residence located along Zogirma Road in the Bunza Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
Sources said the armed men breached the property shortly after the judge returned from an interstate trip, creating widespread panic before whisking him away to an undisclosed location.
According to a competent security source, the attack occurred at about 12:00am on Saturday night shortly after the judge returned from a trip to Sokoto, adding: “He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen stormed his residence and took him away.”
A family member, who did not want his name in print, told some reporters that nobody in the house was physically assaulted though the peaceful atmosphere was shattered by the sudden explosion of gunfire as the attackers sprayed bullets into the night sky to terrorize the neighborhood, leaving many people in the area traumatized.
Providing a grim timeline of the unfortunate incident, the source said, “As soon as the dust settled and the gunmen were gone, we did what any desperate family would do. We instantly notified the appropriate authorities, including the High Court leadership, to trigger an immediate rescue operation.”
Confirming the abduction to reporters, the Police Public Relations Officer, Kebbi State Command, SP Bashir Usman, said, “I can confirm that Hon. Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza was abducted from his residence in Bunza around midnight”.
He said on receiving the report, the Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Muhammad Hadejia , immediately deployed tactical and intelligence operatives to ensure his safe rescue, adding: “As we speak, our personnel are combing identified locations, including forest areas, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed.”
Also reacting to the unfortunate incident, a senior official of the Kebbi State High Court, who pleaded anonymity, described it as a sad development for the judiciary, saying: “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 hinted that behind the scene, the High Court leadership has already triggered rescue plan, working frantically alongside heads of regional security agencies to orchestrate the judge’s immediate freedom.
Meanwhile, the identity and motives of the captors remain entirely unknown and hours after the ambush, an eerie quiet prevails across the state, leaving security agencies with zero claims of responsibility to track. As of the time of filing this report, no group has formally claimed responsibility for the judge’s abduction.
