Six Islamic Clerics Abducted On Way To Zamfara Prayer Gathering For Tinubu’s Re-election, Police Confirm | Sahara Reporters
About 1,000 Islamic scholars were reportedly invited to the gathering to pray for Tinubu’s victory in the 2027 presidential election.
Six Islamic clerics invited to attend a special prayer gathering for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election have been abducted by suspected terrorists in Zamfara State, the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed.
The clerics were reportedly travelling to Talata Mafara on Saturday, September 12, 2026, when armed bandits ambushed their vehicle along the Dakko–Damri feeder road in Bakura Local Government Area of the state.
The incident occurred at about 11:30 a.m., according to the Zamfara State Police Command.
The police confirmation comes after SaharaReporters had earlier reported that five Islamic clerics were feared abducted in connection with a prayer gathering organised for Tinubu’s re-election at the residence of former Zamfara State Governor and serving Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari in Talata Mafara.
About 1,000 Islamic scholars were reportedly invited to the gathering to pray for Tinubu’s victory in the 2027 presidential election.
The Zamfara police spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar, said in a statement on Sunday that six imams were intercepted and abducted by armed bandits while travelling to Talata Mafara.
“A group of armed bandits, reportedly wielding sophisticated weapons, laid an ambush along Dakko–Damri feeder road and intercepted a vehicle conveying the victims,” Abubakar said.
He stated that the six victims, all identified as imams, were travelling to Talata Mafara when they were abducted by the assailants.
“Upon receipt of the report, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Bakura Division, promptly mobilised and led Police personnel, including the Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU), in collaboration with other sister security agencies, to the scene of the incident,” he said.
The police spokesman said security agencies were conducting a search operation to locate and rescue the abducted clerics.
SaharaReporters had earlier identified five of the clerics as Imam Yahuza, the First Jumma’at Imam in Dogon Madacci; Magawata Abdullahi, the Second Jumma’at Imam in Dogon Madacci; Malam Shehu Dakko; Imam Bala Fagon; and Na’ibi Tasi’u of Tungar Nagudai.
Sources had said the clerics were among those invited to attend the prayer gathering at Yari’s residence.
The police, however, did not disclose the identities of the six abducted imams in its latest statement.
The development has created a discrepancy between the initial report identifying five victims and the police confirmation of six abducted imams.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army said it had not independently confirmed whether the abducted persons were Islamic clerics.
Olaniyi Osoba, a Lieutenant Colonel and spokesperson for the Nigerian Army’s 8 Division, said the military was aware that people travelling to see Yari had been abducted but could not confirm their identities.
Speaking on Sunday, Osoba also denied that any cleric was abducted at Yari’s residence.
“Nothing happened to those ones,” he said, referring to the clerics who gathered at the residence for the prayer session.
Osoba said the military had not confirmed whether the people abducted along the road were among the clerics who had gathered or were travelling to the senator’s residence.
The victims had not been rescued as of the time of filing this report.
The abduction has further highlighted the worsening security situation in Zamfara, where armed groups commonly referred to as bandits have continued to carry out kidnappings, killings and attacks on communities and travellers.