ADC gov candidate calls for action against Sokoto killings, abductions
September 8, 2026 9:24 am
The ADC governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Manir Dan’iya. Photo: ADC
The ADC governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Manir Dan’iya, has condemned the latest killings and mass abductions in Rabah Local Government Area, describing the attacks as evidence of the failure of the government to protect residents.
Dan’iya, in a statement issued by his Media Aide, Aminu Abdullahi, on Tuesday, said reports of the killing of a mother and her son, alongside the deaths of 10 people and the abduction of about 40 others in Rabah on Sunday, represented a worrying escalation of insecurity in the area.
He also expressed concern over another attack on Tofa village in the same local government, where seven people were reportedly killed and 12 others abducted.
“How many more people must be killed or abducted before the APC governments admit that Sokoto has a serious security emergency?” Dan’iya asked.
He said the repeated attacks in Rabah had exposed what he described as a widening gap between government assurances and the reality confronting residents in rural communities.
Rabah Local Government Area has witnessed repeated attacks by suspected bandits in recent months, with residents facing killings, abductions and livestock rustling. In March, police confirmed that one person was killed and five others abducted during an attack on Mallamawar Yari village. Another attack reported in June left four farmers dead and 12 others abducted.
More recently, several communities across Sokoto State have come under attack, prompting calls for stronger security measures and an increased presence of security personnel in vulnerable areas.
PUNCH Online reports that no fewer than 10 persons were allegedly killed and several others abducted in the early hours of Monday when bandits stormed one of the communities in the local government.
The state government has announced several measures aimed at strengthening security, including the approval of N1.75bn for the procurement of 1,000 motorcycles for security agencies.
Dan’iya said the government must ensure that such interventions produce tangible results for residents.
“The people of Rabah do not need another press statement. They need security personnel, intelligence, rapid response and the confidence to sleep in their homes without fearing that armed men will arrive in the night,” he said.
He further called for stronger political coordination and accountability in the state’s security architecture, arguing that the scale of insecurity required a more robust institutional response.
Dan’iya also urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts against banditry in the North-West, saying the region could not continue to experience killings, kidnappings and displacement while governments relied on occasional security operations and assurances.
“When citizens are being killed and abducted, demanding accountability is not politicising insecurity. When communities are attacked repeatedly, asking government to protect them is not politics”, he stated.
He called on the Federal Government, Sokoto State Government and security agencies to intensify intelligence-led operations, rescue abducted residents, arrest the perpetrators and establish a sustained security presence in vulnerable communities.
Dan’iya commiserated with the families of those killed in the attacks and prayed for the safe return of the abducted residents.
He also commended security personnel fighting banditry in the state, promising that, if elected in 2027, his administration would prioritise the protection of lives and property through improved intelligence gathering, stronger coordination with security agencies and sustained operations against criminal networks.
“Sokoto must not become a place where people are killed today, mourned tomorrow and forgotten the day after. Every life lost is a failure that government must answer for”, Dan’iya concluded.
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