Bandits Abduct Sokoto Deputy Governor’s Relatives, Others in midnight raid

Armed men suspected to be bandits have abducted eight people, including relatives of Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Idris Mohammed Gobir, during an overnight raid on Garin Idi village in Sabon Birni Local Government Area.

Residents said the attackers arrived on about eight motorcycles around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 30, 2026, shooting indiscriminately and forcing villagers to flee into nearby bushes. The operation reportedly lasted for nearly two hours without any intervention from security forces.

Eyewitnesses told Daily Trust that the gunmen initially rounded up around 30 villagers, mostly women and children. They later released some of them, taking away eight people—three men and five women. The abducted persons were identified as Hassana Adare Maifata, Rabi Alhaji Ishaqa, Kwamuso Umar, Yar’aji Garba, Kabiru Alkasim, Sani Muazu, Jadi Alkasim (a patient), and a woman said to share the same father with the deputy governor.

The attackers also looted a local phone charging point, carting away more than 100 mobile phones, several power banks, and about ₦40,000 in cash.

Residents described the assault as one of the most intense they had experienced, lamenting that their repeated appeals for government protection have gone unanswered.

“We are appealing to the deputy governor to intervene. It is painful that we continue to suffer these attacks despite being his relatives,” one resident said.

The abduction is the latest in a string of violent incidents in Sabon Birni Local Government Area, where communities have faced persistent security threats with little visible relief.