The Islamic clerics were kidnapped on Saturday, September 13, 2026, while on their way to Talata Mafara for a special prayer session organized in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's 2027 re-election bid.
The imams were ambushed at Gidan Suleiman Bature, about three kilometers from Damri village, on their way to the event.
The prayer session, which drew over 2,000 imams and Islamic scholars from across the state, was organized by the Director-General of the Tinubu 2027 Re-election Campaign Council and former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdul'aziz Yari Abubakar.
The abducted clerics have been identified as the Chief Imam of Dakko Juma'at Mosque, Malam Shehu; the Imam of Dogon Madacci, Liman Yahuza and his deputy; the Imam of Fagon, Liman Bala; and the Imam of Tungar Nagodai, Na'ibi Tasi'u.
Four of the clerics are from Bakura Local Government Area, while Na'ibi Tasi'u hails from Anka Local Government Area.
The Zamfara State Police Command had earlier announced that it has launched a rescue operation to secure their freedom, but as of Monday, September 29, the clerics are still in captivity.
Speaking with Daily Trust correspondent on Monday, a son of one of the abducted imams said families and the entire communities have been thrown into trauma and anxiety.
He said they are under pressure to meet a deadline reportedly given by the bandits to meet their demands.
"Anybody whose religious leader is in captivity and nobody knows their condition will never be at peace," said the family member who pleaded anonymity for security reasons.
He disclosed that the communities have constituted a committee to negotiate with the abductors, citing what they described as slow response from government and security agencies.
The family member also decried insensitive comments by some members of the public who are linking the abduction to the mission of the clerics.
"Others feel happy, saying that it is because they are on the way to pray for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's re-election bid, while some said other unpleasant comments without considering the trauma we are undergoing," he lamented.
He, however, said religious activities in the affected mosques have continued, with deputy imams taking over the leadership of prayers.
"Their deputies are now handling the affairs of the mosques. In the case of both who were in the bandits' den, another person was appointed to take charge," he said.
Another relative of the victims revealed that the bandits have moved the imams to an unknown location, making rescue more difficult.
"We have entirely lost hope of any intervention since the time we were told that the bandits had taken our fathers to another location. We don't know the camp they were taken to," he said.
According to him, after face-to-face negotiations in the bush, the bandits agreed to reduce the ransom from N100 million to N30 million.
"The bandits gave us an appointment to meet with them physically within any of the communities under their control or in the bush for negotiations, and you must obey their directives," he explained.
He narrated how tension almost marred the negotiation when one of the community representatives offered N15 million against the N100 million demanded.
"Our first contact with the bandit leader was when he requested N100 million and one of the negotiators priced it at N15 million. The bandit attempted to gun him down and said that, if not because he had promised that he would not kill anybody during the negotiation process, he would have killed him.
"We later settled for N30 million. Other bandits pleaded on our behalf, and he later accepted the price," he said.
He also disclosed that the bandits proposed reconciliation with the communities in exchange for a lower ransom, but the communities rejected the offer.
"We chose to pay the ransom money rather than accept their offer of reconciliation," he said, stressing that accepting such deal would mean surrendering to live under the control of the bandits.
The source added that residents have commenced individual contributions to raise the N30 million ransom.
A community source alleged that activities of informants have frustrated two security operations aimed at rescuing the clerics.
"The informants obstructed the security response to rescue the abducted imams on two separate occasions," he alleged.
He said security operatives had to abort a mission after intelligence indicated that their movement had been leaked to the bandits.
"There is a stream which their armoured vehicles could not cross. They just made a U-turn and told us that they couldn't enter without their armoured cars since they were notified that informants had communicated with the bandits about their arrival," the source said.
He further revealed that Damri weekly market could not hold on Monday following intelligence that bandits planned to attack the market.
"Damri market did not take place yesterday for fear of a bandit attack because we heard that they planned to attack the market.
"We have started contributing money based on our individual capabilities to meet the bandits' target," he added.
When contacted, the Zamfara State Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, Captain Bala Mairiga, the Commissioner for Information, Mahmud Dantawasa, and the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar, did not respond to calls and messages seeking their comments on the development.
