A Sharia court judge, Mohammed Muktar, narrowly escaped death or possible abduction on Wednesday after suspected bandits stormed the courtroom in Gwarjo village, Matazu Local Government Area of Katsina State. The armed men invaded the court premises around midday, firing sporadically and demanding to know the judge's whereabouts.

According to residents, Muktar spotted the approaching gunmen from a distance and escaped through a window moments before they reached the courtroom, with a commercial motorcyclist helping him flee the area before the attackers could locate him. One resident said the bandits entered shooting indiscriminately while repeatedly asking for the judge. Eyewitnesses said the attackers, enraged after discovering he had escaped, threatened to kill him if he ever returns to preside over court proceedings in the community.

The incident has heightened fears among residents of Gwarjo, a community that has repeatedly suffered bandit attacks. Katsina police spokesperson Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu could not be reached for comment. The attack adds to a string of recent incidents targeting the judiciary in northern Nigeria — days earlier, gunmen abducted Kebbi State High Court judge Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza from his residence, an incident still unresolved as of this report.