Six students of Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda, are being held captive after suspected bandits stormed their off-campus residence on the outskirts of the Low-Cost area of Kaura Namoda town, Zamfara State.
Seven students were initially abducted, but one managed to escape. Three male and three female students remain in the hands of the kidnappers, according to a fellow student, Ibrahim Ahmad.
The Chairman of Kaura Namoda Local Government Area, Hon. Mannir Haidara Kaura, confirmed the incident, saying security agencies had launched operations to secure the victims’ release. “Security operatives are currently carrying out rescue operations to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped students,” he said.
The Zamfara State Police Command said the abduction occurred after one of the students stepped outside at night and inadvertently left the door open. “Coincidentally, bandits passing through the area entered the house and abducted the students,” police spokesperson DSP Yazid Abubakar explained.
Abubakar said personnel of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), working alongside troops of Operation Fansan Yamma, had launched a coordinated rescue operation. He added that the polytechnic campus itself remains secure and fortified with adequate personnel.
Meanwhile, a civil society group, Concerned Citizens of Kaura Namoda, raised alarm over what it described as a deepening security crisis in the area, which it attributed to bandit leader Kachalla Bello Dansadiya and his gang.
The group cited a string of earlier abductions — including two senior lecturers held for over two months after ransom was paid, three residents, and a district head kidnapped near a military base — none of whom have been rescued.
“Alarmingly, all these victims are reportedly still being held in a well-known bandit camp around Dajin Yamma, yet no rescue operations have taken place. Where are the fighter jets and armoured vehicles?” the group queried.
