Gunmen suspected to be bandits have reportedly abducted Janet Galadima-Gimba, a Customary Court judge, alongside her four sons in Kaduna State.
It was said that the judge and her children were kidnapped at their residence in the Mahuta area of Kaduna.
The abductors who were said to be numbering up to 15, invaded the residence of the customary judge at night when her husband, a medical doctor, was away on duty.
Chief Executive Officer of the House of Justice, Gloria Ballason, who reacted to the development, urged for the protection of the judge and her children.
Ballason said the abductors killed the 14-year-old son of the judge in captivity after the family failed to pay the demanded ransom.
She said the boy, identified as Victor Gimba, the first son of the judge, was shot dead on July 2.
“The abductors, reported to have been about 15, took their captives hostage and demanded a huge sum as ransom,” she said.
“On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the terrorists shot dead Victor Gimba, the first child of the judge, when the ransom demanded could not be obtained.”
The bandits were said to have demanded a N300 million ransom for their release and had threatened to start killing their victims one after the other if payment was delayed.
Ballason condemned the abduction and the murder, adding that “judicial officers under Article 7 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary deserve protection and adequate security to enable them to carry out their judicial functions”.
