Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested six suspects in two separate incidents that have renewed concerns about drug trafficking and mob justice in northern Nigeria, recovering a large consignment of suspected Indian hemp and taking four men into custody over the brutal killing of a farmer accused of witchcraft.
The arrests were announced on Wednesday by the command’s spokesperson, SP Nafiu Habib, who said the operations formed part of the command’s sustained offensive against crime and criminality across the state. In the first case, operatives attached to the Gadau Division, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted a black Sharon Wagon with registration number WKA 805 along Sharfolli village in Atafowa District at about 3 p.m. on September 21. The vehicle was suspected to be transporting illicit drugs. The interception led to the arrest of Shu’aibu Umar, 35, and Isah Ibrahim, 20, both of Atafowa village in Itas/Gadau Local Government Area. They were found in possession of 69 blocks of dried leaves reasonably suspected to be Indian hemp, concealed in bags of groundnuts. Both suspects remain in custody while the exhibits have been recovered.
The second case, which has shocked residents of the Gadau area, involved the killing of 45-year-old farmer Garba Abdullahi. According to Habib, the command received a report on September 22 at about 12:35 p.m. from the victim’s younger brother, a 35-year-old man of Dunari village via Atahowa District. The report stated that at about 11:40 a.m. that same day, Abdullahi was brutally attacked on his way home from his farm by four persons who accused him of being responsible for the illness of one Sawaida Dahiru. The suspects, identified as Shitu Dahiru, 25; Magaji Dahiru, 42; Sabi’u Auwalu, 20; and Abbah Abdulzahar, 19, all males of the same address, allegedly stabbed and macheted the victim on various parts of his body, leaving him unconscious. Police operatives rushed to the scene upon receiving the report and evacuated Abdullahi to the General Hospital in Azare for medical attention. He was later confirmed dead by a medical doctor, and his remains were released to his relatives for burial. All four suspects have been arrested.
The Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State Command, CP Sani-Omolori Aliyu, condemned what he described as the increasing cases of jungle justice and self-help based on superstitious beliefs. He warned that nobody had the right to take another person’s life under any guise, urging residents to allow the law to take its course whenever disputes or suspicions arise. Both cases have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Bauchi for discreet investigation and subsequent prosecution. The command reassured residents of its commitment to protecting lives and property, while urging members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information to the police and to desist from taking the law into their own hands.
The arrests come amid a broader surge in drug-related crime and vigilante violence across Bauchi State. In late August, police arrested three members of a vigilante group over the death of a 39-year-old man, Abdulrazak Ibrahim, who died while in their custody. The Commissioner of Police again warned against extrajudicial actions and jungle justice, stressing that only lawful authorities are empowered to investigate and prosecute alleged offences. Earlier in September, five suspects were arrested in three separate cases of culpable homicide and foeticide across Bauchi metropolis, Kirfi and Ningi Local Government Areas. In one of those cases, a dispute over farmland escalated into a fatal stabbing, and the suspect was arrested while attempting to flee to Gombe State.
The drug dimension of Wednesday’s arrests reflects a deepening challenge in the state. According to data from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the Bauchi State Command seized more than 2.2 tonnes of assorted illicit drugs and secured 79 convictions between November 2025 and June 2026. The agency arrested 270 suspects during the same period and destroyed a cannabis plantation. In September, an NDLEA officer was killed during an operation against suspected drug users in Toro Local Government Area, underscoring the risks faced by enforcement personnel. The NDLEA has consistently linked drug abuse to property crime, violent crime and the erosion of social cohesion, a pattern that appears to be playing out in Bauchi’s communities.
The witchcraft allegation that led to Abdullahi’s killing is not an isolated phenomenon. Across parts of northern and central Nigeria, accusations of witchcraft and sorcery have repeatedly led to mob violence, lynching and extrajudicial killings. The police have consistently warned against such practices, but enforcement remains difficult in rural communities where traditional beliefs are deeply held and where suspicion of formal justice systems runs high. The Bauchi command’s swift arrest of the four suspects in Abdullahi’s killing sends a clear signal that such acts will not go unpunished, but the underlying social dynamics that produce these tragedies require more than arrests to address.
For now, the six suspects remain in police custody as investigations continue. The drug suspects face charges related to trafficking and possession of illicit substances, while the four accused in Abdullahi’s murder face culpable homicide charges. The cases will be prosecuted through the courts, where the evidence gathered by the police will be tested. The command has urged residents to cooperate with law enforcement and to resist the temptation to take justice into their own hands, warning that those who do will face the full weight of the law. In a state grappling with both drug trafficking and vigilante violence, the message is clear: the police may be stretched, but the law still applies to everyone, and those who choose to kill in the name of superstition or to profit from the misery of addiction will be held accountable.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments