By Musa Ubandawaki, SOKOTO
The Department of State Services, DSS, Sokoto State Command, has issued a stark security warning over intelligence indicating plans by terrorists and bandit groups to attack tertiary institutions across the state, raising fears of possible abductions of students, lecturers, staff and their family members.
The warning, contained in a letter dated July 18, 2026, addressed to the Sokoto State Government and signed on behalf of the State Director of Security, B. Abdulaziz, said intelligence available to the Service pointed to a dangerous tactical shift by criminal elements from primary and secondary schools to universities and other tertiary institutions.
The DSS, in the security alert titled “Planned Attack on Tertiary Institutions by Terrorist and Bandit Gangs,” warned that the emerging threat could have devastating consequences for the education sector if urgent preventive measures were not taken.
The Service said the criminal groups appeared to be changing their operational focus after previously targeting vulnerable primary and secondary schools, with tertiary institutions now emerging as potential targets because of the concentration of students, academic and non-academic staff and their relatives.
