A High Court Judge, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, has reportedly been abducted by suspected bandits in Bunza, Kebbi State.
Sources said gunmen suspected to be bandits stormed the judge’s home along Zogirma Road in Bunza Local Government Area in the early hours of Sunday and took him away.
The source said, “He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen stormed his residence and took him away”.
It added that nobody in the house was hurt, although the attackers shot sporadically before whisking the judge away.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kebbi State Command, SP Bashir Usman, confirmed the abduction to newsmen.
He said, “I can confirm that Hon. Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza was abducted from his residence in Bunza around midnight”.
The PPRO said the Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Muhammad Hadejia, immediately deployed tactical and intelligence operatives after receiving the report, with the aim of securing the judge’s safe rescue.
“As we speak, our personnel are combing identified locations, including forest areas, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed,” the PPRO said
A senior official of the Kebbi State High Court, who pleaded anonymity, also confirmed the incident to journalists. He described it as a sad development for the judiciary.
“Though I’m not authorized to speak formally to the press, but this is a painful moment for us.
“To hear that one of our judge was abducted at his residence is very disturbing”, he said.
He said the management of the High Court in kebbi had already met with heads of security agencies in the state to strategize on securing the judge’s immediate release.
