KEBBI STATE — Justice Faruk Hassan Bunza, a Kebbi State High Court judge, has opened up about his harrowing nine days in captivity, revealing the meticulous and peculiar precautions his abductors took to conceal their identities.
Abducted from his residence in the early hours of July 26, the judge was finally released on August 3 after his family paid a hefty ransom. Now safely home, Justice Bunza’s account offers a chilling but fascinating inside look into the operations of his captors.
According to the judge, he was forced to keep his face covered for the entirety of his captivity, with his abductors going to extreme lengths to ensure he never caught a glimpse of their faces.
“Although my captors were friendly, my face remained covered throughout my stay in captivity,” Justice Bunza recounted. “Whenever it was time to eat, they would hide behind me and ask me to uncover my face so I wouldn’t see them.”
He explained that only after the gunmen had retreated completely out of sight was he permitted to remove his blindfold to eat. Once he finished his meal, they instructed him to cover his face again before they would return from their hiding spots.
The terrifying ordeal began around midnight on July 26, when five heavily armed men stormed his home in Bunza. The assailants reportedly fired warning shots into the air to establish dominance and spark panic before swiftly whisking the judge away into the night. Fortunately, no injuries or casualties were reported during the initial raid.
Following the abduction, the kidnappers reached out to Justice Bunza’s family, initially demanding a staggering ₦200 million for his safe return. After days of tense negotiations, the family disclosed that they were able to secure his release following the payment of a ₦50 million ransom.
Despite the sheer terror of being taken by armed men and held for over a week, Justice Bunza noted that he was treated “relatively well” by his captors, aside from being entirely stripped of his freedom and his vision.
The safe return of the High Court judge has brought immense relief to his family and the Kebbi State judiciary, though the brazen nature of the midnight raid continues to highlight ongoing concerns regarding kidnapping for ransom in the region. If privileged persons saddled with dispensation of justice are not spared from the ordeals of kidnapping, who then is safe?
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