Gunmen believed to be bandits abducted Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza from his home in Bunza Local Government Area of Kebbi State early Sunday morning. The assailants stormed his residence along Zogirma Road and spirited him away after he'd just returned from Sokoto.
A source said the attackers fired shots sporadically during the raid but no one in the house was harmed. Police spokesperson SP Bashir Usman confirmed the abduction, saying it occurred around midnight.
Commissioner of Police Umar Muhammad Hadejia deployed tactical and intelligence officers immediately after receiving reports of the incident. "Our personnel are combing identified locations, including forest areas, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed," Usman told reporters.
A senior official at the Kebbi State High Court, who requested anonymity, said the judiciary was deeply troubled by the incident. "To hear that one of our judges was abducted at his residence is very disturbing," he told journalists.
The court official explained that management had already convened meetings with heads of security agencies in the state to coordinate efforts toward securing the judge's immediate release. He described the abduction as a sad development for the judiciary in the state.
