By Ado Oyeyemi
Suspected bandits have abducted six students of the Federal Polytechnic Kaura Namoda after attacking their off-campus residence in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The victims were reportedly kidnapped on Tuesday night when armed assailants stormed a student lodge located on the outskirts of the Low-Cost area of Kaura Namoda town.
The Chairman of Kaura Namoda Local Government Area, Mannir Haidara Kaura, confirmed the incident on Wednesday, assuring residents that security agencies had commenced efforts to rescue the students and ensure their safe return.
According to sources within the institution, seven students were initially targeted during the attack, but one of them escaped from the captors, leaving six others in captivity.
A student of the polytechnic, identified as Ibrahim Ahmad, said the abducted victims comprised three male and three female students.
The latest incident has heightened concerns over the worsening security situation in Kaura Namoda, with residents expressing fears over the increasing activities of armed groups in the area.
A civil society group, Concerned Citizens of Kaura Namoda, lamented what it described as persistent insecurity in the locality, alleging that criminal gangs have continued to operate despite ongoing security operations.
The group recalled previous kidnapping incidents in the area, including the abduction of two senior lecturers who reportedly spent more than two months in captivity despite ransom payments. It also referenced the kidnapping of a district head and other residents, claiming some victims remained in the custody of their abductors.
Meanwhile, the Zamfara State Police Command has confirmed the attack and said a coordinated rescue operation is underway.
The command’s spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar, disclosed that the students were attacked at their residence outside the institution’s main campus, stressing that the school itself remained adequately protected by security personnel.
According to him, preliminary findings indicated that one of the students had stepped outside during the night and inadvertently left the door open, creating an opportunity for the attackers to gain access to the building.
Abubakar said operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, working alongside troops of Operation Fansan Yamma, had launched an intensive search-and-rescue mission to secure the release of the abducted students.
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The incident adds to the growing list of kidnappings targeting students and residents in parts of Zamfara State, despite ongoing military and police operations aimed at curbing banditry across the North-West region.
