Sokoto Bandits Kidnapping Raid leaves six abducted in Gazau village after a midnight attack, with survivors and threats reported by locals

Armed bandits on Monday carried out a late night raid in Gazau village, Isa Local Government Area of Sokoto State, abducting six residents after initially storming homes and taking a larger group of villagers captive, according to local sources.

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The Sokoto Bandits Kidnapping Raid reportedly occurred at about 1:00 am when the attackers invaded the community, seizing 13 persons comprising 12 women and one man.

The assailants were said to have moved their captives towards Dan Adama Forest, where they conducted a selection process based on household grouping.

A source explained that the bandits instructed the abducted individuals to identify themselves and later released one person for every two individuals from the same household.

Following this process, seven of the abducted villagers were freed, while six others were taken away to an undisclosed location.

The abducted persons were identified as Asabe Zakariya, Inno Ibrahim, Inno Musa, Umma Yusuf, Safina Abdullahi, and Saminu Jijji.

Their current whereabouts remain unknown as families and community members await further information amid growing anxiety.

The Sokoto Bandits Kidnapping Raid has also raised fresh concerns after the attackers reportedly issued threats to continue daily assaults on the village unless residents sought amnesty from them, heightening fear among locals and underscoring the persistent insecurity challenges in the region.

Efforts to reach the Chairman of Isa Local Government Area, Sharehu Abubakar Kamarawa, were unsuccessful as his phone lines were unreachable at the time of filing this report.

Similarly, the spokesperson of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, did not respond to calls seeking comment.

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Security agencies are yet to provide an official update on the incident as residents continue to call for urgent intervention to prevent further attacks.