Kaduna Teenage Girl Loses Hand After Family Rejects Forced Marriage Proposal

By Micheal Chukwuebuka

A 15-year-old girl, Endurance Sabon, was brutally attacked and had her hand severed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Goska community, Kaninkon Ward, Kafanchan, Kaduna State, after her family refused a forced marriage proposal. According to a family member, the assailants first approached Endurance’s mother while she worked on the family farm, demanding the girl be handed over for marriage.

The incident occurred around 10 a.m. on Friday as Endurance and her relatives farmed. The men praised the girl’s beauty and insisted she marry one of them. Believing they were joking, her mother ignored the threats. Later, as the family waited for a motorcycle home around 6:30 p.m., the men ambushed them in the bush. After initially failing to identify the girl, they found Endurance, dragged her into the forest, and inflicted a deep cut on her hand.

Endurance was first taken to General Hospital, Kafanchan, then referred to a private facility, and now to Jos University Teaching Hospital due to the severity of her injuries. Five of the nine suspects have been arrested; the family knows them and says their homes are near the farm.

The family is appealing to the Kaduna State Government and security agencies for urgent medical and legal support, insisting the suspects be prosecuted and the victim compensated. The attack has raised concerns about ongoing insecurity in Goska, linked to forced marriages and banditry. Earlier this year, a brother of the victim’s family was also killed and mutilated by Fulani herdsmen.

This report underscores the persistent threats of violence and forced marriage in the region and the urgent need for government intervention.