Eight killed, eight abducted in Zamfara highway attack as police report operations in Katsina, Kebbi

Eight travellers were killed and eight others abducted when armed men attacked motorists on the Gusau-Funtua highway in Zamfara State, the police said on Thursday.

Nine other passengers sustained gunshot injuries in the attack, which occurred near Unguwar Chida village in Tsafe Local Government Area, on Tuesday.

The Zamfara State Police Command said security forces later pursued the attackers and killed 17 suspected bandits in an exchange of fire.

The police spokesperson in the state, Yazid Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Abubakar said the police received a report at about 4:05 p.m. that a large number of armed men had blocked the federal highway and were shooting at motorists and passengers.

The attackers intercepted two commercial vehicles: an unregistered Sharon vehicle driven by Halilu Namadi of Taloka village in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, and a Sokoto State Transport Authority (SSTA) bus carrying 18 passengers towards Kaduna and Abuja.

Mr Namadi was travelling from Sokoto to Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory when he was shot dead. His vehicle lost control, somersaulted and veered off the road.

Six passengers in the vehicle, four men and two women, were also shot dead.

In the SSTA bus, one male passenger was killed, nine others sustained gunshot injuries and eight were abducted.

The police said officers from the Tsafe division and personnel of the Violence Crime Response Unit were deployed to the scene after receiving the distress report.

The injured were taken to the General Hospital, Tsafe, for treatment, while the bodies of those killed were deposited at the hospital’s mortuary pending identification and notification of their relatives.

Police say attackers struck again

The command said the same armed group attacked Magazu village in Tsafe LGA at about 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday.

A 35-year-old resident, Lawali Muazu, was hit by what the police described as a stray bullet and taken to the General Hospital, Tsafe, for treatment.

Mr Abubakar said police and military personnel pursued the attackers along the Gusau-Funtua highway, where the group attempted to intercept a trailer carrying food items.

Security personnel engaged the attackers in a gunfight, killing 17 suspected bandits, the police said. Several others reportedly escaped with gunshot wounds.

PREMIUM TIMES has not independently verified the reported deaths among the suspected bandits.

The police statement did not say whether any weapons, ammunition or other items were recovered from those killed.

Security personnel were still searching for the eight abducted passengers and the fleeing attackers as of Thursday, the command said.

The police said teams comprising officers, soldiers, Community Protection Guards, hunters and local vigilantes had been deployed along the highway and other vulnerable locations.

Police foil attack in Katsina

In Katsina State, police said they foiled an attack on two communities in Malumfashi Local Government Area and killed one suspected bandit.

The police spokesperson, Abubakar Aliyu, said the command received a distress call at about 6 p.m. on Tuesday that suspected bandits on motorcycles were moving towards Dansarai and Kamfani villages.

Mr Aliyu said officers from the Malumfashi Division and the Violence Crime Response Unit blocked the routes the attackers were expected to use and engaged them in a gunfight.

The attackers fled, while officers recovered the body of one suspected bandit during a search of the area, the police said.

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No civilian or security personnel casualty was reported.

The Commissioner of Police in Katsina, Ali Umar Fage, directed officers to continue searching for the fleeing suspects.

Police recover electricity cables in Kebbi

In Kebbi State, police said they recovered 10 bundles and seven sacks of electricity service cables in Bunza Local Government Area.

Police spokesperson Bashir Usman said the cables were recovered during an operation in the Kara area of Bunza town on Tuesday.

A suspect, Mustapha Abubakar, was arrested and later arraigned before a court, Mr Usman said.

The command did not name the court, state the charges filed against the suspect or provide an estimated value of the recovered cables.

Mr Usman said the operation followed repeated vandalism of electricity infrastructure in the area, which had disrupted power supply to some communities.

The Commissioner of Police in Kebbi, Umar Hadejia, urged residents to report suspected vandalism and other crimes to security agencies.