February 7, 2026 l Dalena Reporters
Suspected bandits have abducted prominent community figures, including the Chief Imam of the Janjala Central Mosque and a leading Fulani community leader, in a series of coordinated night-time raids across rural areas of Kagarko Local Government Area in Kaduna State, sources told Dalena Reporters.
According to local residents and security sources, the attacks occurred on Tuesday night at about 9 p.m., when heavily armed gunmen stormed multiple villages including Iddo, Gidan-Makeri, Kohoto and Janjala in the predominantly agricultural region of southern Kaduna.
Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants first targeted the residence of the Chief Imam, Malam Bello Abdullahi, whisking him away along with Alhaji Shehu Bello, a recognised Fulani leader, and a woman who was also seized during the raids.
“The bandits came in large numbers, heavily armed with AK-47 rifles,” a community leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety, told reporters. He added that civilians fled in panic as the attackers moved through villages, abducting residents and rustling cattle, a tactic often used to weaken rural livelihoods.
The violence has triggered a mass displacement among villagers, with many fleeing to Kagarko town and the neighbouring settlement of Sabon-Wuse to seek refuge. Some families reported that they spent the night hiding in bushland before reaching relative safety as fear spread throughout the local population.
Community figures said the recent abductions follow a seven-day ultimatum issued by the bandits, who demanded a ₦6 million ransom for the release of a woman and her four children kidnapped in an earlier incident. When the deadline passed with no apparent rescue effort or response from security agencies, the attackers returned with further violence.
“We made several distress calls to the police, the military and other security agencies, but there was no meaningful response,” a displaced resident lamented, highlighting long-standing frustrations with the pace and effectiveness of official security interventions in the area.
The raids underscore a broader pattern of banditry and rural insecurity in northern Nigeria, where armed criminal gangs frequently conduct abductions, cattle rustling and violent attacks on remote communities, often outpacing government efforts to protect civilians and restore order.
As of the latest reports, no official statement has been released by the Kaduna State Police Command or the Kaduna State Government about the abductions or any ongoing operations to rescue the kidnapped victims and secure the affected communities.