Bandits Kill Two Quranic Students, Abduct Three in Targeted Bauchi Raid

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BAUCHI — A wave of grief and panic has gripped Rafin Ciyawa village in the Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State after heavily armed bandits launched a midnight assault, killing two children and abducting three family members of a local resident.

The attack, which occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m., shattered a 50-year streak of peace in the community. The state police command has since deployed joint tactical teams to comb the surrounding bushes in a bid to rescue the victims and track down the assailants.

Massacre of the Innocents: A Mistaken Identity

According to local accounts, the raid began with sporadic gunshots that sent terrified villagers fleeing into nearby bushes for safety. The initial casualties were children who had been sleeping in the open air to escape the oppressive heat wave.

“Over the years, it has been the practice for the children to sleep outside, especially during the hot weather,” narrated Zubairu Yahaya, a resident. “We were in our homes when we heard sporadic gunshots. We initially thought they were local vigilantes or policemen, but we later discovered they were bandits.”

When the gunfire subsided, the villagers returned to find several children writhing in pain. Two Quranic students, who were sleeping outside their Arabic teacher’s residence after their daily lessons, were killed instantly, while six others sustained severe bullet wounds.

In a bizarre twist, the bandits reportedly returned to the scene moments later to apologize for the killings. They informed the community that the deaths of the children were a “mistake” because they were not the intended targets, urging the grieving community to accept it as “the act of Allah.”

High-Value Targets and the Multi-Million Naira Demand

The gunmen revealed their true mission as they moved systematically from house to house, specifically demanding the whereabouts of a local resident identified as Saminu and his younger brother, Safiyanu. The bandits claimed to have received intelligence that the brothers had recently acquired a substantial sum of money.

Upon failing to find the primary targets, the gang stormed the residence of a relative, Mukhtar Usman.

“Allah saved me from being killed following arguments among the gunmen over whether to kill me or not,” Usman recounted, noting that other occupants managed to scale the fence into neighboring compounds.

The bandits eventually rounded up and abducted three family members from the compound, identified as:

The kidnappers have since established telephone contact with the family. While they initially demanded an astronomical ransom of ₦100 million, negotiations have brought the figure down to ₦10 million. “We are still negotiating with them,” Usman confirmed.

Police Confirm Deployment and Rescue Operations

The Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Nafiu Habib, confirmed the tragedy. He assured the public that the command had taken immediate steps to restore security to the area.

“Yes, it happened. There was an attack on the Rafin Ciyawa community by gunmen. Three people were kidnapped, while two lost their lives in the attack. Already, personnel from the Village Rescue Committee Unit (VRCU) and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (AKU), supported by local hunters and vigilante members, were immediately deployed to the area and are still there to rescue the kidnapped victims and arrest suspects.” — SP Nafiu Habib, Bauchi PPRO

The incident underscores the shifting operational theater of banditry in the North-East, as criminal networks increasingly target remote agrarian communities using localized financial intelligence to execute high-stakes abductions.

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