Again, gunmen abduct students in Zamfara

Gunmen abducted seven students of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda, Zamfara State, in the early hours of Wednesday, Daily Trust gathered. The students were reportedly kidnapped from their off-campus residence on the outskirts of the Low-Cost area of Kaura Namoda. Residents said seven students were initially taken, but one escaped, leaving three male and three female students in captivity. Hours after the Zamfara incident, the sister of former Minister of Power and an aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) race for the governorship of Oyo State, Bayo Adelabu, was abducted. The sister, Busayo Adegoke John-Paul, and her twin children were abducted by armed men in Ibadan, the state capital. The victims were said to have been kidnapped at about 7:30 am while she was taking her children to school. The incidents happened amid growing concerns over the rising wave of kidnappings across the country. On Tuesday, teachers staged nationwide protests over the abduction of more than 80 students and teachers in Oyo and Borno states, while the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity. The Zamfara State Police Command confirmed the abduction of the students, saying security operatives had launched a rescue operation. Police spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said the students were kidnapped from their residence and assured that efforts were ongoing to rescue them. How Zamfara students were abducted He said the polytechnic campus remains heavily secured, making it difficult for bandits to penetrate. He explained that one of the students reportedly stepped outside at night and left the door open, enabling armed men passing through the area to gain access to the house and abduct the occupants. Abubakar said personnel of the Command’s Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU), in collaboration with troops of Operation Fansan Yamma, were working to secure the safe return of the victims. The Chairman of Kaura Namoda Local Government Area, Mannir Haidara Kaura, also confirmed the incident and said security agencies were intensifying efforts to rescue the students. A group, Concerned Residents of Kaura Namoda, in a statement, lamented the worsening security situation in the area, saying several residents, including two lecturers, a traditional leader and family members of a security personnel, had recently been abducted despite the presence of security formations. “Alarmingly, all of these victims are still being held in a well-known bandit camp around Dajin Yamma, yet no rescue operations have taken place. “Despite numerous complaints and suggestions forwarded to the authorities, nothing has changed. As a result, staff and students are fleeing the town for their own safety. “Allowing these criminals to attack, kidnap, and return to their base unchallenged is an affront to our national security. With a military base located near the Low-Cost area, proactive measures must be taken immediately before the bandits attempt something even more embarrassing to our forces,” they said. They urged security agencies to take the fight directly to the bandits’ doorstep, deploy more operatives and equipment, and protect the community and the Polytechnic. Cases of kidnapping in Zamfara Zamfara remains one of Nigeria’s worst-hit states for banditry and mass abductions. The state has witnessed repeated attacks on villages, highways, schools and farming communities over the past decade. Notable incidents include the abduction of 317 schoolgirls from Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe, in February 2021; the kidnapping of 19 students and staff of the Zamfara College of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Bakura, in August 2021; the abduction of 73 students from Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, in September 2021; and the kidnapping of 24 students from a hostel in Sabon Gida community in 2023. Between June 2025 and May 2026, at least 270 people had been abducted in Zamfara State, according to an analysis of documented incidents compiled from media reports. Security experts, however, caution that the actual figure may be significantly higher, as many kidnappings in remote rural communities are either unreported or documented only at the local level. One of the incidents occurred on June 16, 2025, when suspected bandits attacked farmers along the Dunfawa–Alawa Road in Moriki District of Zurmi Local Government Area. The attackers initially abducted five farmers before seizing two more victims in the Tudun Moriki community on the same day, bringing the total number of abductees to seven. Two were later rescued. On July 19, 2025, armed bandits attacked farmers near Jangebe in Talata Mafara Local Government Area, abducting about 15 people and killing nine others. Among the most devastating cases was the mass abduction of 56 residents from Banga village in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area between March and July 2025. According to the council chairman, Mannir Haidara Kaura, only 18 victims returned alive after ransom payments were made, suggesting that 38 others died in captivity. The survivors were later hospitalised for treatment. On July 27, 2025, gunmen kidnapped three relatives of the Zamfara State Secretary to the State Government in Gusau. The victims were subsequently rescued. On July 20, 2025, authorities announced the freedom of 32 victims, including 27 women and five children, from bandit camps in Shinkafi. Between July 22 and 25, troops rescued 106 kidnapped persons from camps in Maru Local Government Area. In August 2025, another 128 victims were reportedly reunited with their families in Kaura Namoda, while on May 30, 2026, security forces rescued 31 abductees along the Bagega-Kawaye axis of Anka Local Government Area. Ex-minister’s sister, sons kidnapped in Ibadan It was gathered that the abduction of the former power minister’s sister and her children occurred in the Challenge area of Ibadan South West Local Government Area of the state. Adelabu’s media aide, Femi Awogboro, confirmed the incident in a statement. According to the statement, Adelabu’s younger sister, Busayo Adegoke John-Paul, alongside her twin sons, Peter and Paul, were kidnapped in the early hours of Wednesday. “Mrs Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul, aged 43, was reportedly abducted by armed gunmen at about 7:30 a.m. while on her way to drop her children at school in Ibadan. The abductors also forcefully took away her 12-year-old twin sons, who were with her at the time of the incident,” Awogboro said. The statement hinted that Mrs Adegoke John-Paul had relocated to Ibadan after voluntary retirement last year, having served at both the Central Bank of Nigeria and First Bank Pension Custodian. “Following her retirement, she relocated to Ibadan with her children while making preparations to eventually join her husband, Mr John Paul, who had earlier relocated to the United States of America,” the statement said. The former minister’s aide said that immediately the incident was reported, all relevant security and law enforcement agencies were duly contacted. He said, “We are pleased to confirm that security operatives have swung into action and preliminary investigations have commenced in earnest. Efforts are currently ongoing to ensure the safe rescue of the victims and the apprehension of those responsible for this heinous crime. “Adebayo Adelabu and the entire family are deeply distressed by this tragic development but remain hopeful and confident in the capacity of the security agencies to secure the safe release of Mrs John-Paul and her children.” The family, therefore, appealed to members of the public to remain calm, avoid speculation, and refrain from circulating unverified information that may jeopardise ongoing security operations. It also solicited prayers and support from well-meaning Nigerians during this difficult period. The family further urged anyone with useful information that may assist security agencies in their investigation to promptly report such information through the appropriate channels. Police begin probe The Oyo State Police Command, in a statement by the spokesperson, Ayanlade Olayinka, said it has commenced an investigation into the incident. “Following the report of the incident, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, immediately directed the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Challenge Division, alongside other tactical teams, to proceed to the scene where the victim’s vehicle was recovered and commence intensive investigations,” the statement reads. “Investigations are ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. “The Command urges residents to remain calm, law-abiding, and cooperative with the police by providing any useful information that may assist ongoing investigations,” the command said. ‘Why gunmen target schools’ A security analyst and retired military officer, Captain Yahaya Jarabu Umar Damagum, has said that armed groups target schools because they are soft targets that offer easy access and high visibility. He said schools are often attacked because they lack adequate protection, making them vulnerable compared to other secured installations. He said terrorists and armed bandits typically avoid hardened targets and instead focus on locations where resistance is minimal. “The school children don’t even have the strength to protect themselves in a physical fight, not to talk of defending themselves against armed bandits,” he said. Damagum added that attacks on schools are often designed to attract widespread attention, both locally and internationally. He noted that the abduction of students usually generates public outrage, forcing governments to prioritise rescue efforts. “The terrorists want to attract global attention. By targeting vulnerable groups like school children, they create panic and pressure authorities to respond quickly, often leading to negotiations and ransom payments,” he explained. He further observed that kidnapping large groups of students allows attackers to demand higher ransoms, making schools financially attractive targets. Commenting on the federal government’s “Safe School Initiative,” the retired officer described it as a good policy that has suffered from weak implementation. He said security personnel deployed to schools are often insufficient, withdrawn, or reassigned, thereby weakening protection. Damagum warned that insecurity in schools poses a serious threat to national development, stressing that education remains the foundation of societal progress. He called for increased deployment of security personnel, particularly police and civil defence officers, to schools across the country. However, he noted that the scale of insecurity makes it difficult for the government alone to secure all institutions. He, therefore, advocated stronger community policing and greater local involvement, saying communities must take responsibility in safeguarding schools alongside government efforts. Atiku to Tinubu: Adelabu’s family abduction shows no one is safe Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said the abduction of the sister and nephews of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, exposed the depth of Nigeria’s insecurity crisis. In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said it was particularly shocking that such a brazen abduction occurred in the heart of Ibadan at the bustling Challenge Bus Stop, one of the city’s busiest and most recognisable locations. According to him, the fact that kidnappers could strike in such a prominent public space without fear of interception speaks volumes about the worsening security situation in the country. He observed that while millions of ordinary Nigerians have endured the horrors of kidnapping for years, “this latest incident raises a question that the Tinubu administration can no longer evade: if government officials have become desensitised to the suffering of ordinary citizens, should they not at least be alarmed when insecurity reaches the doorstep of one of their own?” The former Vice President lamented that across the country, families were being subjected to unimaginable trauma as kidnappers and other criminal elements operate with growing audacity. “If the endless cries of ordinary Nigerians were not enough to spur this government into action, one would have expected that an attack affecting the family of a former member of the administration would finally underscore the urgency of the crisis. Sadly, insecurity has become so pervasive that no one is truly insulated from its consequences,” he said. The former Vice President stressed that a government that cannot guarantee the safety of its citizens is failing in its most fundamental obligation. He decried a situation where Nigerians now budget for ransom payments the same way they budget for school fees and where parents live in constant fear of receiving devastating phone calls about their loved ones. He reiterated his call for the immediate rescue of the victims and the arrest and prosecution of their abductors. Oyo APC decries abduction of Adelabu’s sister The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has condemned the abduction of a former Minister’s sister and her sons. In a statement issued by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, the APC urged Governor Seyi Makinde to work closely with security agencies and other stakeholders to curb the rising wave of insecurity in the state. Sadare said the latest kidnapping came at a time when public concern was already high over unresolved abductions. He called on federal, state and local authorities to urgently strengthen the state’s security architecture to ensure better protection of lives and property. The party also urged intensified collaboration between the government and security agencies to halt the growing trend of kidnappings and violent attacks in Oyo State. Senate, Obi seek release of abducted school children The Senate on Wednesday condemned the abduction of school children and teachers in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. The Senate, while adopting a motion by Senator Fatai Buhari (APC, Oyo North), also called on the federal government to strengthen its Safe School Programme to ensure a safe and effective learning environment. Senator Buhari, while reading his motion, also notified the Senate that earlier Wednesday morning, kidnappers struck again in Ibadan, abducting two children and their mother. He called for the Senate’s intervention in ensuring the release of those still in captivity. Also, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has pleaded with the kidnappers who abducted school children and their teachers in Oyo State to release them for the sake of humanity. Obi wrote on his X platform on Wednesday: “To those holding these children, I make a direct appeal to your conscience. Remember that these are innocent children—sons and daughters of people who have placed their hopes, dreams, and entire future in them. In every one of them, you will find reflections of your own children, your own family, and your own humanity. “No grievance, no hardship, no justification can ever outweigh the sanctity of a child’s life and innocence. Whatever path has led to this moment, there is still room for remorse, for humanity, and for a change of heart. I, therefore, appeal to your sense of mercy: release these children immediately. Let them go. Return them safely to society to reunite with their families.”