Suspected bandits on Sunday carried out a midnight raid on Garo, a town in the Kabo Local Government Area of Kano State, and abducted a young woman, Zainab Auwalu.

Residents said the bandits took Miss Auwalu away despite collecting N8 million from her family. She was said to have just completed secondary school.

Residents said the kidnappers arrived in the town on motorcycles with sophisticated weapons and went straight to the residence of Alhaji Auwalu, a local businessman.

Numbering about 10, they arrived in the town at 1:30 a.m. and went away with their ransom and captive after operating for hours unchallenged.

A resident, Haruna Muhammad, told PREMIUM TIMES that the incident caused panic in the community, with residents blaming it on informants.

The police spokesperson in Kano, Haruna Kiyawa, said the police and sister security agencies were tracking the criminals.

Kidnapping for ransom in Kano is not common. Armed banditry is also infrequent. But residents of Garo and other Kano North LGAs bordering Kaduna and Katsina have experienced random incidents of kidnapping.