Zarah Abubakar Shehu, a 21-year-old student at Federal University, Gusau in Zamfara State, has died in captivity four months after being abducted by armed bandits.
The 300-level student was taken from her home in the Damba area of Gusau, along with her two siblings, in a brazen attack on November 3, 2024.
Despite her family paying a N10 million ransom, Zarah’s captors failed to release her, and she tragically lost her life, deepening the anguish of a family already pushed to the brink.
The abduction began a grueling ordeal for Zarah’s family, with the bandits initially demanding N35 million for the safe return of the three siblings. After intense negotiations, the ransom was reduced to N10 million, which the family paid in a desperate bid for their freedom.
However, the kidnappers then demanded additional items—four motorcycles and four cartons of engine oil. The family complied, only to receive devastating news from the bandits’ leader: Zarah had died two days earlier and was already buried.
Zarah, the only daughter of her mother, spent her final months in the clutches of criminals who have terrorized Zamfara and surrounding states, operating from forest enclaves with little resistance.
Her death, reported on March 2, 2025, by security analyst Zagazola Makama on X, has sparked outrage and renewed calls for action against Nigeria’s rampant banditry crisis.
The incident highlights the growing danger faced by students and residents in the North-West where abductions have become alarmingly frequent.
As Zarah’s family grieves an irreplaceable loss, her story adds to the mounting toll of lives claimed by insecurity. Authorities face mounting pressure to dismantle the bandit networks, but for now, Zamfara mourns yet another victim of a crisis that shows no signs of abating.
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