Bandits k!ll poly student and driver, abduct passengers in Sokoto

Suspected bandits have k!lled two people, including a student of the Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic, Sokoto, and abducted some passengers after attacking a Golf vehicle travelling from Goronyo to Sokoto.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, October 5, 2026.

Sources familiar with the incident told Daily Trust that the attackers stopped the vehicle at Hawan Ado while it was carrying 12 passengers.

A resident of Bijeje, who asked not to be named, said residents heard gunshots near the town and went out with local guns to protect the community.

He said they later saw a man running towards them and stopped him to find out what had happened.

According to him, the man said the bandits attempted to stop their vehicle, but the driver refused to stop. 

He said the attackers then shot the driver and the passenger sitting close to him.

He said the vehicle subsequently veered off the road, allowing some of the passengers to escape, while the bandits abducted others.

The resident said they stopped a vehicle for the man who escaped, and he travelled to his village under Rabah Local Government Area.

“They go to Goronyo market every Sunday to sell oranges and other fruits, but they do not return home until Monday morning,” the resident said.

Another resident of Sabon Garin Dole, where the incident occurred, confirmed the attack, saying three of the victims who escaped later went to a hospital in the village for treatment.

He said the victims told them that the driver and a student were k!lled during the attack, while some passengers were abducted.

A resident of the deceased student’s community, who also asked not to be named, identified him as Sadik Abdullahi and said he was studying Building Engineering at Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic, Sokoto, at National Diploma II level, with less than two months to his graduation.

When contacted, the Sokoto State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Ahmad Rufai, said the command received information between 7am and 7.30am that two travellers were k!lled while travelling to Sokoto from Goronyo.

He, however, said the command did not yet have details of the number of people abducted.