Gunmen kidnap High Court judge Faruku Hassan Bunza in northwest Nigeria

Gunmen kidnapped High Court judge Faruku Hassan Bunza from his home in Bunza town in northwestern Nigeria’s Kebbi state on Sunday morning, police told AFP.

Kebbi police spokesman Bashir Usman said the judge was abducted shortly after returning to Bunza. Police said efforts were under way to rescue him.

The Africa Judges & Jurists Forum, a continental network of judges, condemned the kidnapping and said the abduction of a judge struck at values central to constitutional democracy.

The kidnapping follows other high-profile abductions in the region. AFP reported that gunmen recently kidnapped Nura Umar Bungudu, chairman of Bungudu local government area in neighbouring Zamfara state. In May, gunmen kidnapped retired army Major-General Rabe Abubakar and his wife in nearby Katsina state; Abubakar later died in captivity, according to the Katsina state government.

The source says kidnappings have become a major source of money for armed groups in Nigeria, including jihadists in the northeast and bandit gangs that dominate parts of the northwest.