The violent targeting of top institutional leaders has reached a critical tipping point in Nigeria’s Northwest region. Heavily armed bandits breached the Zogirma Road residence of Kebbi State High Court Judge Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, abducting him in a brazen midnight raid.
This audacious kidnapping closely follows a parallel assault in neighbouring Zamfara State, underscoring a systemic security failure that directly targets top institutional heads.
Barely 48 hours prior, heavily armed gunmen stormed the Zango area of Bungudu—less than 20 kilometres from the state capital of Gusau—overpowering security guards to abduct
Bungudu Local Government Area Chairman Nura Abdullahi.
The bloody raid left two police officers and two local vigilantes dead, emphasizing the escalating vulnerability of the region’s political and judicial leadership.
The targeted abduction of Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza from his Bunza Local Government Area residence has significantly heightened regional security fears. Bandits heavily armed with assault rifles breached the jurist’s home along Zogirma Road at approximately midnight on Sunday, striking just moments after he returned from a trip to Sokoto State.
The assailants fired indiscriminately into the air to terrorize the neighborhood before whisking the High Court judge away to an unknown destination. While no member of his immediate household was physically harmed during the breach, the clinical nature of the operation has sent shockwaves through the state’s legal community.
“He had just arrived from Sokoto when the gunmen aggressively breached his residence,” an local source confirmed. “Immediately following the breach, we raised the alarm and alerted the relevant security authorities, alongside the leadership of the State High Court.”
Confirming the security breach, the Kebbi State Police Command disclosed that a massive intelligence-led manhunt is underway to secure the jurist’s release. Command Spokesperson SP Bashir Usman stated that Justice Bunza was taken from his Bunza residence around midnight, prompting an immediate emergency deployment by the state’s top brass.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Muhammad Hadejia, has mobilized tactical and intelligence assets to track the abductors,” SP Usman confirmed.
“Our personnel are actively combing identified flashpoints, including rugged forest hideouts, to ensure the judge is rescued alive and unharmed.”
Meanwhile, the incident has sent panic through the legal community, with a senior official of the Kebbi State High Court—speaking on the condition of anonymity—characterizing the abduction as an unprecedented assault on the rule of law.
“This is a devastating blow for us,” the judicial official lamented. “To see a sitting high court judge dragged from his own home is deeply disturbing and crosses a dangerous red line.”
Moving to prevent a systemic shutdown, judicial authorities have locked arms with security agencies. The High Court’s leadership has already held an emergency strategy session with state security heads to synchronize tactical efforts and accelerate the frontline operations tracking the judge’s captors.
Editor’s Note: Representative image.
