Nigerian security agencies rescue abducted Islamic clerics

Nigerian police, in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Office of the National Security Adviser, have secured the release of three Islamic clerics. The clerics had been held in captivity by bandits for nearly two months.

The abduction occurred on September 12, 2026, while the group was traveling through the Dakko-Damari feeder road in the Bakura Local Government Area toward Talata Mafara in Zamfara State. The clerics were reportedly en route to a prayer session organized by Senator Abdulaziz Yari, the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council for the All Progressives Congress, intended to support President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid.

Zamfara State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Bello, confirmed the rescue and stated that efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the three remaining clerics still held by the abductors.