Freed judge identifies bandits’ hideout, laments security
Justice Faruk Bunza, the Kebbi High Court judge recently freed after over a week in captivity, has identified his abductors’ hideout and raised concerns about insufficient security for judicial office
Justice Faruk Bunza, the Kebbi State High Court judge recently freed after over a week in captivity, has pinpointed the hideout where his abductors held him, while raising concerns about insufficient security for judicial officers handling sensitive criminal cases. Mr Bunza stated he was detained at Dutsen Bandan in Dakin Gari, Suru Local Government Area, approximately 49 kilometres from his residence in Bunza.
The judge said some of the armed men at the camp lived there with their families and alleged that the group relied on informants from nearby communities. He stated that his abductors appeared to be fully armed with information about him before the incident. According to him, they showed him photographs of himself and Nura Abdullahi, chairman of Bungudu Local Government in neighbouring Zamfara State.
Beyond his account of captivity, Bunza raised concerns about security arrangements for judges in Kebbi. He claimed he had permanent security at his residence while serving as a magistrate and later as chief magistrate, but no longer received the same level of residential protection after becoming a high court judge. “Every judge should have security at his residence, at least at night,” he told Weekend Trust.
The judge’s account leaves several questions unresolved. It is unclear whether security agencies have since searched Dutsen Bandan, whether the location was known to them before his kidnapping or whether investigators have identified any of the people he described as informants. It is also unclear whether the Kebbi judiciary or security agencies have reviewed residential protection for judges following the abduction.
This echoes the 2021 abduction of a judge in Kaduna, which also raised concerns about judicial security. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a judge left vulnerable to bandits.
The winners: Justice Bunza, who has regained his freedom; and the Nigerian judiciary, which has seen one of its members survive an ordeal. The losers: the security agencies, which failed to protect a judge; and the Nigerian state, which faces questions about its ability to protect judicial officers.
Bottom Line: A freed judge has identified his abductors’ hideout. The security of judges is in question. The question is whether the government will act to protect judicial officers or wait for the next abduction.