A wave of outrage and renewed concern over rural insecurity has swept through southern Kaduna following a brutal attack on a 15 year old girl whose hand was severed after her family rejected an alleged forced marriage proposal by suspected Fulani herdsmen. The incident, which occurred in Goska community, Kaninkon Ward of Kafanchan, Jama’a Local Government Area, has reignited long standing fears over violent attacks, forced marriages, and the vulnerability of women and children in remote farming settlements.
The victim, identified as Endurance Sabon, was attacked on Friday after assailants reportedly targeted her family while they were working on their farm. A family member who spoke with SaharaReporters on Saturday recounted that the attackers had earlier approached Endurance’s mother during farm work and demanded that the teenage girl be handed over in marriage.
According to the family’s account, the men approached the women around 10 a.m. while they were farming, praising the girl’s beauty and insisting she should be married to one of them. The mother reportedly dismissed the request, believing the men were joking. However, the situation soon took a terrifying turn.
“We were working on the farm from about 10 a.m. that day,” the family source said. “My mother and my niece were together when some Fulani herdsmen approached them. They told my mother to give them the young lady’s hand in marriage, saying she was very beautiful. My mother thought they were joking, but they kept speaking in their dialect and repeatedly called the girl by name.”
Unbeknownst to the family, the men allegedly continued to trail them after the initial encounter. Later in the evening, around 6:30 p.m., Endurance, her mother, and other relatives waited near the farm for a commercial motorcycle to take them home. It was at this point, according to the family, that the attackers struck.
“After they finished their farm work, they waited for an okada rider to take them home,” the source explained. “Unknown to them, the men followed them through the bush and laid an ambush. As they were walking, the attackers suddenly rushed them. The older women fell down, and when the attackers shone a torchlight, they realised one of them was not the girl they wanted.”
The attackers allegedly searched again, identified Endurance, and dragged her into the forest. There, the teenage girl was violently attacked, sustaining severe injuries that led to the amputation of her hand.
“They searched again with the torchlight, found the young girl, grabbed her, and dragged her into the forest,” the source said. “That was where they attacked her and inflicted a deep cut on her hand.”
Endurance was rushed to the General Hospital in Kafanchan for emergency treatment before being referred to a private medical facility due to the severity of her injuries. As her condition worsened, doctors later transferred her to the Jos University Teaching Hospital for specialised care.
“She was first taken to the General Hospital in Kafanchan and then referred to Joyce Hospital,” the family member said. “Because of how serious the injury is, she has now been referred to Jos University Teaching Hospital. We are appealing for urgent help.”
The family also disclosed that five suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack, out of an estimated nine men believed to be involved. According to the source, the suspects are known to the family and live close to the farmland where the incident occurred.
“Five persons were arrested. My mother knows them very well. Their houses are close to the farm,” the family member said.
The family has called on the Kaduna State Government and security agencies to ensure that justice is served and that the perpetrators are not released. They are also appealing for government intervention to support the victim’s medical treatment and rehabilitation.
“We need help,” the source pleaded. “The government should address the security situation in our community and assist with her medical bills. Those arrested should not be released. They should be prosecuted, and the victim should be compensated so this kind of thing will not happen again.”
Residents of Goska community say the attack has intensified fear and anxiety, particularly among women and young girls who regularly work on farms or travel through isolated areas. Community members describe a persistent climate of insecurity, with reports of banditry, violent attacks, and forced marriage demands continuing to threaten daily life.
The latest incident has also reopened wounds from previous attacks in the area. According to the family, a relative from Tudun Wada was earlier attacked by suspected herdsmen this year, and his decomposed and mutilated body was later discovered, deepening the family’s sense of loss and insecurity.
Human rights advocates and community leaders have condemned the attack, describing it as a grave violation of human dignity and the rights of the child. They argue that the incident underscores the urgent need for stronger security presence in rural Kaduna, better protection for women and girls, and decisive prosecution of perpetrators of gender based violence.
Southern Kaduna has for years been a flashpoint for communal violence, farmer herder clashes, and criminal attacks, often exacerbated by disputes over land, grazing routes, and weak security coverage in rural communities. Despite repeated assurances by authorities, residents say attacks continue with little deterrence.
As Endurance battles for recovery in hospital, her story has become a grim symbol of the human cost of insecurity in Nigeria’s rural communities. For her family and many others in Goska, the hope now rests on justice, accountability, and concrete action to prevent such brutality from recurring.
