KANO: In a predawn raid, gunmen abducted more than 30 people, including at least 24 female students, in and around a university in Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria. The attack occurred in Sabon Gida village, located on the outskirts of a Federal University near the state capital, Gusau.
Dozens of armed individuals, reportedly members of criminal gangs known as bandits, stormed the village on motorcycles, breaking into three female hostels and forcibly taking away the occupants, according to residents who recounted the events to AFP news agency. This incident marks the first mass kidnapping at a college since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office, pledging to address the country’s security challenges.
Sabon Gida resident Sahabi Musa described the attack: “The bandits rode into the village on motorcycles and broke into the hostels and gained access into rooms by bringing down the windows. They abducted at least 24 female students from the University hostels along with two male neighbors.”
During the raid, the attackers also entered the university premises and seized nine welders who were asleep while working on a new building, as corroborated by Shehu Hashimu, another resident. One of the welders managed to escape and return to the school.
Troops were dispatched from Gusau, situated 20 kilometers away, to engage the attackers in a gunfight. However, one group of kidnappers succeeded in herding the hostages away while another group confronted the soldiers, as reported by both sources. “The attackers had a field day. They operated in the village for three hours unchallenged before troops arrived,” Hashimu said.
Abductors Assault Nigerian University
Online videos shared following the assault depicted ransacked rooms in one of the hostels, with windows forcibly opened. Yazid Abubakar, spokesperson for Zamfara state police, confirmed the attack but refrained from providing specific details, citing ongoing security efforts to free the captives.
A military officer disclosed that a military operation was in progress, with soldiers engaging the attackers in a forest near the nearby town of Tsafe. “The troops who followed the abductors into the forest have rescued six of the female students,” the anonymous officer stated.
Zamfara state, like several other regions in northwestern and central Nigeria, has been plagued by banditry. These criminal groups frequently raid villages, carrying out abductions, killings, and the destruction of homes after looting them. The bandits maintain camps in a vast forest spanning multiple states in the region.
These criminals have become infamous for their mass kidnappings of students from schools in recent years. In February 2021, bandits targeted a girls’ boarding school in Jangebe, Zamfara state, kidnapping more than 300 students. The girls were eventually released after authorities paid a ransom.
