Travellers rescued as police battle bandits in Zamfara

The police in Zamfara State have confirmed suspected bandits’ attack on the Gusau-Funtua Federal Highway in Tsafe Local Government Area and rescued nine people trapped by the criminals.

The police also arrested a suspected arms courier and recovered 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles in a separate operation along the same highway.

The incident occurred on Friday, August 28, 2026, according to a statement issued by the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar.

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The statement said trouble started at about 1:20pm when the Tsafe Divisional Police Headquarters received reports of heavy gunshots around the Kwanoni-Gidan Giye axis of the highway.

It said suspected bandits had intercepted two vehicles and attacked their occupants.

One of the vehicles was a Sharon mini-bus, with registration number KWL 742 ZY, driven by Lawal Dauda of Zaria Local Government Area, Kaduna State.

The vehicle was conveying seven passengers from Gusau to Zaria.

The second vehicle, an unregistered bus driven by Haruna Alhaji Nasiru of Danja LGA, Katsina State, was carrying his son, Sanusi Haruna, and transporting dry cassava from Sokoto to Funtua.

The police said the Tsafe Divisional Police Officer, alongside operatives of the Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU) and military personnel under Operation FANSAN YAMMA, immediately moved to the scene after receiving the distress call.

The security forces engaged the bandits in a gun battle, forcing them to abandon the attack and flee towards the mountainous outskirts of Tsafe town.

“Some of the bandits are believed to have sustained gunshot wounds,” the statement said.

It added that all the nine occupants of the two vehicles were rescued unharmed.

In a separate operation at about 5:30pm the same day, VCRU operatives arrested a 50-year-old man, Khalid Umar, allegedly conveying 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles.

Umar, who is from Bawa Ganga Village in Tsafe LGA, was intercepted along the Funtua-Tsafe Federal Highway following credible intelligence.

According to the police, a preliminary investigation showed that the suspect was allegedly conveying the firearms from Shuwaki Village in Bakori LGA of Katsina State to Bawa Ganga in Zamfara.

The suspect is currently in police custody while the recovered firearms had been secured for further investigation.

The police said the investigation would determine the source and intended recipients of the weapons and identify other persons connected with their procurement and movement.

The command assured motorists and residents that it would sustain joint patrols and intelligence-led operations along major highways and other vulnerable areas in the state.

It said the measures were aimed at denying criminal elements freedom of action and ensuring the safety of travellers.