Six Islamic clerics have been abducted by armed gunmen while travelling along the Dakko-Damri feeder road in Bakura Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Gatekeepers News reports that the incident occurred at about 11:30am on Saturday, September 12, when the attackers reportedly ambushed the vehicle conveying the clerics, who were travelling towards Talata Mafara. The victims were identified as Imams.
Yazid Abubakar, spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, confirmed the incident on Sunday. He said the assailants were armed with sophisticated weapons and intercepted the vehicle before taking the six clerics away.
Following the incident, the Divisional Police Officer in Bakura mobilised police personnel, including members of the Violence Crime Response Unit, alongside other security agencies. Security operatives subsequently began searching surrounding bushes in an effort to locate and rescue the victims.
“Upon receipt of the report, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Bakura Division, promptly mobilised and led Police personnel, including the Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU), in collaboration with other sister security agencies, to the scene of the incident,” Abubakar said.
The police said the state Commissioner of Police, A. M. Bello, directed the operatives to intensify the rescue operation and deploy all available resources to secure the release of the clerics. Residents were also urged to provide credible information that could assist the authorities in locating the victims and arresting the perpetrators.
The Nigerian Army also confirmed that six Islamic scholars were abducted in the area but disputed reports that they were kidnapped at the residence of former Zamfara governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, in Talata Mafara.
Olaniyi Osoba, Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 8 Division, Nigerian Army/Sector 2 of Operation Fansan Yamma, said intelligence available to the military indicated that the victims were abducted while travelling from the Sububu forest axis in Bakura Local Government Area towards Talata Mafara.
“We wish to categorically refute the claim and set the record straight that no cleric was abducted at Senator Yari’s Residence,” Osoba said.
The Army said troops, working with the police, other security agencies and local intelligence networks, had intensified efforts to locate and rescue the victims. It urged the public to disregard what it described as “sensationalized narratives and unverified information” that could cause panic or interfere with the ongoing operation.
The abduction comes amid continued security challenges in Zamfara, where armed groups have carried out kidnappings and attacks in several communities and along major travel routes.
