Security forces in north-western Nigeria have launched a major joint operation to rescue six Islamic clerics kidnapped along a key forest corridor in Zamfara State.
The Imams were ambushed at around 11:30 local time on Saturday, 12 September, while travelling along the Dakko–Damri road in the Bakura local government area. Armed men carrying sophisticated weapons intercepted their vehicle and forced them into the surrounding bushland near the Sububu forest.
Troops from the Nigerian Army’s 8 Division, operating under the joint task force Operation Fansan Yamma, have joined forces with the Zamfara State Police Command and local intelligence networks to track down the assailants.
Speaking on the ongoing operation, army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba confirmed that ground forces and sister security agencies were intensifying search efforts across the region to secure the victims’ safe return.
Police spokesperson DSP Yazid Abubakar said specialized units, including operatives from the Violent Crime Response Unit, were immediately deployed to search the terrain shortly after the abduction was reported.
Zamfara State Police Commissioner A. M. Bello has ordered full deployment of available resources and appealed to local communities to share any credible information that could aid the rescue effort.
North-western Nigeria has faced a prolonged security crisis driven by armed gangs—locally referred to as bandits—who frequently carry out mass abductions for ransom, target travel routes, and raid rural communities. The dense Sububu forest has long served as a key hideout for these criminal groups.
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