Suspected armed bandits have abducted a serving High Court Judge in Kebbi State, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, from his residence in Bunza Local Government Area of the state.
The judge was reportedly kidnapped around midnight on Sunday, July 26, 2026, during a late-night attack on his residence along the Zogirma Road axis.
According to family members and local sources, Justice Bunza had just returned home from an official assignment in neighbouring Sokoto State when the gunmen struck.
The heavily armed assailants were said to have stormed the quiet residential area around midnight, firing warning shots into the air to scare residents before breaking into the judge’s residence and whisking him away.
Although the attackers abducted the judge, other members of his household were reportedly left unharmed.
“He had just arrived from his trip to Sokoto when the gunmen stormed the compound and took him away. Thankfully, no other family member was physically injured during the attack, but the emotional trauma is severe,” a family source said.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the legal community and the Kebbi State Judiciary, with senior officials of the High Court reportedly holding emergency meetings with security chiefs to coordinate efforts aimed at securing the judge’s safe release.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Kebbi State Police Command, SP Bashir Usman, said the command had deployed tactical and intelligence assets to rescue the abducted judge.
“I can confirm that Hon. Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza was abducted from his residence in Bunza around midnight,” Usman said.
He added that the Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Muhammad Hadejia, had directed anti-kidnapping units and tactical squads to comb identified forest corridors and suspected hideouts across the state in a bid to rescue the judge unharmed.
The abduction is the latest in a series of high-profile kidnappings in Nigeria’s North-West region and reportedly occurred within 24 hours of the abduction of a local government chairman in neighbouring Zamfara State.
The incident has again drawn attention to security challenges confronting the region, where criminal groups are known to exploit poorly policed forest reserves, including the Rugu and Kuyambana forests linking Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina states, to launch attacks before retreating to remote hideouts.
As of the time of filing this report, no group had claimed responsibility for the abduction, while no ransom demand had reportedly been made to the judge’s family.
Meanwhile, civil society organisations and members of the legal profession have renewed calls on the Federal Government to strengthen the country’s security architecture and provide improved protection for judicial officers and other public officials serving in vulnerable parts of the country.
