- A Facebook page shared a video in July 2026 claiming bandits abducted a Sharia judge in Safana Local Government Area of Katsina state
- The claim has been investigated by fact-checkers after the post gathered about 5,000 reactions and 522 shares on social media
- A separate bandit attack on a Sharia court in Katsina did occur recently, but it involved a different court and a different judge
A video circulating on Facebook since Friday, July 31, 2026, claims that bandits abducted a Sharia judge identified as Samaila Husseini while he was presiding over a court session in Bauren Zakat Village, Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State. The post, shared by a page called Agbama Dynasty, described the incident as bandits carrying out “bandit law” on the judge.
The narrator in the video said: “One Samaila Husseini, a Shariah judge, was presiding over a Shariah case in Bauren Zakat Village in Safana Local Government of Katsina State. Bandits decided to do their own bandit law on him. Oo, broke into the court, picked this guy, took him to the bush to do bandit law.”
By Monday, August 3, 2026, the post had gathered roughly 5,000 reactions, 141 comments, 522 shares and 160 bookmarks. Several commenters took the claim at face value. Jacob Moses wrote, “Good, this is Nigeria.” Ajirngee Charles said, “Good one, they are the cause of everything.” Raphael Part described it as “Good news ever,” while Nkechi Jerry commented, “Very good.”
Katsina: What fact-checkers found
The high engagement prompted DUBAWA to investigate. Keyword searches returned no recent credible media reports matching the details in the video. Instead, fact-checkers found that on July 30, 2026, suspected bandits attacked a Sharia court in Gwarjo, Matazu Local Government Area of Katsina State. In that incident, the presiding judge, Mohammed Mukhtar, fled through a back window before gunmen entered the premises. The attackers fired shots and threatened to return but did not abduct or harm him. That incident was covered by Daily Trust, The Guardian, Leadership News, Tribune and other outlets.
Because the July 2026 attack did not match the location or details in the Facebook video, investigators searched further and traced the content to a confirmed incident from May 18, 2021. On that date, armed bandits entered a Sharia court in Bauren Zakat village, Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State, and abducted the presiding judge, Husaini Sama’ila, during an active court session. Eyewitnesses at the time confirmed the attackers took the judge from the premises.
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The 2021 abduction did happen, but the Facebook page shared the video without any indication of when it occurred, leading viewers to believe the incident was recent.
Verdict: Misleading
DUBAWA concluded that the claim is misleading. The abduction of a Sharia judge in Bauren Zakat village is a verified event, but it took place in May 2021, not 2026. The recent bandit attack in Katsina involved a separate court in Matazu Local Government Area, where the judge escaped without being harmed.
Source: Legit.ng