NIGERIAN LAW SOCIETY CONDEMNS ABDUCTION OF HON. JUSTICE FARUK ALHAJI HASSAN BUNZA OF THE KEBBI STATE HIGH COURT.

The Nigerian Law Society (NLS) received with shock and outrage the news of the abduction of Hon. Justice Faruk Alhaji Hassan Bunza of the Kebbi State High Court, who was reportedly seized from his residence by armed bandits last night. We condemn this act in the strongest possible terms and call for his immediate and unconditional release.

Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), is unambiguous, it provides that the primary purpose of government is the security and welfare of the people. When a serving judicial officer can be taken from the sanctity of his own home, it is a stark demonstration that this constitutional guarantee is failing the very citizens who serve at the pinnacle of the justice system. Government at all levels — federal and state — cannot discharge its duty by rhetoric alone; it must be measured by the safety of ordinary Nigerians and public officers alike, and this incident is a grave indictment of that duty.

The abduction of a sitting judge is not merely a security incident; it is a direct assault on the judiciary as an institution and on the rule of law itself. Judicial officers must be able to discharge their constitutional functions free from fear, intimidation, or reprisal. When judges can be violently removed from their homes with impunity, the effect is corrosive:

It threatens judicial independence, as officers may act under duress or the shadow of fear rather than on the law and the merits of cases before them.

It undermines public confidence in the courts as a place of safety and impartial authority.

It discourages capable and principled individuals from accepting judicial appointments.
It disrupts the administration of justice directly, delaying cases, trials, and the dispensation of justice to litigants who depend on the courts for redress.

A nation that cannot protect its judges cannot guarantee justice to its people.

The Nigerian Law Society calls on:
Security agencies to treat the rescue of Justice Bunza as a matter of the utmost urgency and to deploy all necessary resources to secure his safe and unharmed release.

The Kebbi State Government and the Federal Government to urgently review and strengthen security arrangements for judicial officers, including residential security, particularly in states affected by banditry and armed criminality.

The National Judicial Council and relevant judicial and security bodies to develop and implement a comprehensive protection framework for judges, especially those serving in high-risk states.

All Nigerians, community leaders, security agencies, and civil society to work together, share credible intelligence, and support the security architecture in overcoming the criminality of banditry and kidnapping that has plagued parts of the country.

This is a moment that demands unity of purpose. Nigerians cannot afford to normalise a climate where those entrusted with dispensing justice are themselves unsafe.

Nigeria is not the first nation to confront violent threats against its judiciary, and the experience of others offers instructive lessons.
In Italy, organised crime groups assassinated prominent anti-mafia judges, including Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992. Rather than retreat, the Italian state responded with resolve: it established specialised anti-mafia prosecutorial structures, strengthened witness and judicial protection programmes, and pursued sustained, coordinated prosecutions that ultimately weakened the organised crime networks responsible. The lesson is that state resolve, institutional reform, and sustained investment in judicial protection can turn the tide against criminal intimidation of the judiciary.

In Mexico, judges and court officials handling cases connected to organised crime and cartel activity have faced serious threats, kidnappings, and killings. In response, Mexican authorities developed federal protection mechanisms for judicial officers, prosecutors, journalists, and human rights defenders, and in some jurisdictions introduced specialised, more secure judicial arrangements for handling high-risk organised crime cases. These measures, though imperfect and still evolving, demonstrate a deliberate state commitment to insulating the judiciary from the reach of criminal actors.
Nigeria must draw from these examples: a dedicated, well-resourced protection framework for judicial officers is not a luxury but a constitutional necessity.
The Nigerian Law Society stands in solidarity with Hon. Justice Faruk Alhaji Hassan Bunza, his family, and the entire judiciary of Kebbi State at this distressing time. We demand his immediate, safe release, and we call on government at every level to treat the protection of judicial officers, and indeed all citizens, as the non-negotiable constitutional obligation that it is.

Signed:
Dr. Lilian Uche
National Publicity Secretary
Nigerian Law Society (NLS)

#Sunday, 26 July 2026