A 15-year-old girl, identified as Endurance Sabon, has suffered a life-altering injury after suspected Fulani herdsmen allegedly cut off her hand in a brutal attack linked to a rejected marriage proposal in Goska community, Kaninkon Ward, Jama’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
A family member told SaharaReporters on Saturday that the assailants had earlier confronted Endurance’s mother while she was working with relatives on the family farm on Friday morning. According to the source, the men approached the women around 10 a.m., praising the teenager’s beauty and insisting that she be handed over to one of them for marriage.
The family initially dismissed the comments as a joke, despite the men repeatedly calling the girl by name and speaking insistently in their dialect.
However, later that evening, as Endurance, her mother and other relatives were returning home from the farm around 6:30 p.m., the men reportedly followed them through nearby bushes and laid an ambush.
“As they were walking, the attackers suddenly rushed them,” the family member recounted. “The older women fell, and the men used a torchlight to check their faces. When they realised they had grabbed the wrong person, they searched again.”
The attackers allegedly identified Endurance, seized her and dragged her into the forest, where she was violently assaulted. During the attack, her hand was reportedly severed, leaving her with severe injuries.
Endurance was rushed to the General Hospital in Kafanchan before being transferred to Joyce Hospital for emergency care. Due to the gravity of her condition, she has since been referred to the Jos University Teaching Hospital for advanced treatment.
The family disclosed that five suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, out of an alleged group of about nine men involved. According to the source, the suspects are known to the family and live close to the farm where the incident occurred.
“My mother knows them very well. Their houses are near the farm,” the source said.
The family has called on the Kaduna State Government and security agencies to ensure justice is served, provide urgent medical assistance for the victim and prevent the suspects from being released.
“We need help. The government should assist with her medical bills and address the worsening insecurity in our community,” the family member appealed. “Those arrested must be prosecuted so this kind of crime can be deterred.”
The attack has deepened fear among residents of Goska community, who say threats linked to forced marriages, banditry and violence have become increasingly common. The family also revealed that earlier this year, a relative from Tudun Wada was killed in a separate attack, with his mutilated body later found, underscoring the persistent insecurity in the area.
