Gunmen suspected to be bandits have reportedly abducted the Chief Imam of the Janjala Central Mosque, Malam Bello Abdullahi, in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

A community leader who spoke to Sahara Reporters disclosed that the cleric was abducted alongside the Fulani leader of the area, Alhaji Shehu Bello, and a woman.

The source confirmed that the most recent attack occurred on Tuesday night at about 9pm.

The armed attackers invaded multiple villages in the local government area, including Iddo, Gidan-Makeri, Kohoto and Janjala, where they abducted residents and rustled cattle, forcing many villagers to flee their homes in fear.

The bandits came in large numbers, heavily armed with AK-47 rifles,” the source said. “They first went straight to the house of the Chief Imam and took him away. From there, they moved to the house of the Fulani leader. That was when people started running for their lives.”

The source added that the attackers also abducted a woman during the raid, while several cattle were rustled.

Following the invasion, residents of affected communities, particularly Kohoto, abandoned their villages en masse, fleeing to Kagarko town and neighbouring Sabon-Wuse for safety.

“The panic was total. Once people heard that the Imam and the Fulani leader had been taken, everyone knew the situation had completely collapsed,” the community leader said.

“Many families slept in the bush that night before finding their way to Kagarko and Sabon-Wuse.”

The abductions reportedly came barely days after the bandits issued a seven-day ultimatum to the communities, demanding a ₦6 million ransom for the release of a woman and her four children who had been kidnapped earlier.

Community leaders said the deadline elapsed without any rescue operation or visible security intervention, after which the attackers returned with renewed violence.

“We made several distress calls to the police, the military and other security agencies, but there was no meaningful response,” one resident reportedly said. “Now they have taken our religious and community leaders. We are completely exposed.”