By Uzair Adam
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.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday along Zogirma Road in Bunza, shortly after the judge returned from a trip to Sokoto.
Sources told journalists that the gunmen stormed the judge’s residence around midnight and whisked him away.
“He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen invaded his residence and abducted him,” one of the sources said.
The source added that no member of the household was injured during the attack, although the assailants fired sporadically before fleeing with the judge.
“Immediately after the incident, we alerted the relevant 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 Justice Bunza was abducted from his residence around midnight.
According to him, the Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Muhammad Hadejia, immediately deployed tactical and intelligence teams to track down the abductors and secure the judge’s release.
“Our personnel are currently combing identified locations, including forest areas, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed,” Usman said.
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 painful development for the judiciary.
“It is deeply disturbing to learn that one of our judges was abducted from his residence,” the official said, adding that the High Court management had already met with heads of security agencies in the state to discuss strategies for the judge’s immediate rescue.
As of the time of filing this report, no group had claimed responsibility for the abduction, while security operatives continued efforts to rescue the judge and apprehend those behind the attack.
