Dr Iliyasu Abubakar Sadiq, a lecturer and researcher at the Division of Agricultural Colleges, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, was kidnapped from his farmhouse on the morning of Sunday, September 20, 2027, and found dead hours later with a gunshot wound to the head.
Dr Sadiq, who hailed from Jigawa State, was taken at around 10am from his farmhouse in Tudun Muntsira, a community situated behind ABU's Samaru Campus. His body was discovered by around 2pm at Karau-Karau village.
Attack and Final Words
According to Daily Trust, his widow, Hajiya Baraka, said the attack began when the family's dog started barking and her husband went outside to check. He came back almost immediately, reciting the Islamic phrase "Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un," before urging her to help him shut the door.
"While we were struggling to shut the door, the attackers pushed from outside to gain entry. They were saying, 'open the door or we will come in and kill you,'" Baraka said.
The four gunmen, none of whom wore masks, eventually broke through and entered the house. When Dr Sadiq tried to flee, they warned him that his family remained in their hands.
Gunmen Demand Cash and Valuables
Two of the men restrained Dr Sadiq while the other two turned on Baraka, demanding cash and valuables. She told them repeatedly that the farm did not belong to them and that they had come only to work. When the attackers did not believe her, she invited them to search the property themselves.
One of the gunmen threatened to shoot her. "I told him that if he kills me, I would die a martyr and the sin would be on him because he is not the one who gave me life," Baraka said. The man slapped her and ordered the children, who were already in tears, to be quiet.
The attackers then demanded Dr Sadiq's phone and ATM card. Baraka said she had no access to either. Having found nothing of value, the gunmen announced they would take her husband with them. The couple pleaded, telling the attackers they had young children who relied on Dr Sadiq, but their appeals changed nothing. The couple's youngest child is about eight months old.
Body Found Hours Later
As the men dragged him away, Dr Sadiq called out repeatedly to his wife: "Baraka! Baraka! Take care of my children. Please, have mercy."
After the attackers left with her husband, Baraka grabbed one of the children, moved through the crops to a neighbouring compound, and raised the alarm. Community members combed the surrounding bushes but found nothing in their initial search.
Several hours later, Baraka received word that her husband's body had been found at Karau-Karau village. The gunmen had shot him in the head, taken the items on his person, and left him there.
Dr Sadiq maintained both a residence within the university quarters and the farmhouse, where he kept an orchard and sometimes stayed with his family before returning to campus.
