ABU Lecturer Shot Dead Hours After Farm Abduction

An Ahmadu Bello University lecturer was dragged from his farmhouse by armed men on Sunday morning and found shot dead just hours later, leaving behind two wives and nine children in a tragedy that underscores the persistent kidnapping crisis in Nigeria’s North-West.

Dr Iliyasu Abubakar Sadiq, a researcher and Head of Programme for Pest Management in ABU’s Division of Agricultural Colleges, was taken at about 10am on September 20 from his farmhouse in Tudun Muntsira, a community behind the university’s Samaru Campus in Zaria.

His body was discovered around 2pm the same day in the nearby Karau-Karau area. He had been shot in the head; items on him were reportedly removed before his remains were abandoned.

The Jigawa State indigene was both an academic specialising in entomology and agriculture and a farmer who maintained an orchard. Although the family had official quarters on campus, they sometimes stayed at the farm.

His widow, Hajiya Baraka, described the family’s final terrifying moments. They were inside the farmhouse when their dog began barking. Dr Sadiq went outside to investigate, then rushed back shouting the Islamic expression of resignation to God’s will: “Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un.” He urged her to help secure the door, but four armed men forced their way in after breaking part of it, threatening to kill those inside if the door was not opened.

The attackers, who made no attempt to conceal their faces and carried guns, restrained Dr Sadiq while demanding money and valuables from his wife. She insisted the family did not own the farm and had nothing of value there, even challenging them to search the house. One of the men threatened to kill her; she replied that she would die a martyr and the sin would rest with him. He slapped her and ordered the crying children to keep quiet. Baraka encouraged the children to pray, telling them prayer was their weapon as Muslims.

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When the gunmen realised little money was available, they demanded Dr Sadiq’s phone and ATM card. Baraka said she had no access to either. The family, including an eight-month-old infant, pleaded for the lecturer to be left behind, stressing the children’s dependence on him. The pleas were ignored. As the men dragged him away, Dr Sadiq called out repeatedly: “Baraka! Baraka! Take care of my children. Please, have mercy.”

After the attackers left, Baraka fled through the surrounding crops with one child to a nearby compound and raised the alarm. Residents searched the bushes without success. Hours later came the news of the body’s discovery.

Dr Sadiq’s uncle, Alhaji Yahaya Lawal Kalli, under whose care the lecturer had grown up, called the death a devastating loss. He described his nephew as hardworking and deeply committed to family, and prayed for acceptance of his Shahada and entry into Jannatul Firdaus.

Prof. Bashir Ahmed Babaji, Director of the Division of Agricultural Colleges, described Dr Sadiq as a dependable, hardworking staff member who had previously served as a head of department and was respected in the college.

The university first learned of the abduction through its security officer with limited details, later receiving confirmation of the killing. Babaji called it another painful reminder of the kidnapping threat in the North-West, noting that while ABU had faced similar abductions of academic staff before, previous cases known to the institution had not ended in death.

Kaduna State Police Command spokesperson DSP Mansir Hassan said he would provide further details after receiving information from the appropriate authorities. No official update had been issued at the time of earlier reports on the incident.

The killing of Dr Sadiq, a dedicated teacher, researcher and father, has deepened mourning within the ABU community and renewed calls for stronger action against the banditry and kidnapping that continue to endanger lives across the region.