Police Foil Bandits’ Attack on Zamfara Highway

The Zamfara State Police Command says its operatives, in collaboration with other security agencies, have foiled an attack by suspected bandits on the Gusau-Funtua Federal Highway and rescued nine people.

The command also said it arrested a suspected arms courier and recovered 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles in a separate operation on the same highway.

According to a statement on Saturday by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, the incidents occurred on Friday, August 28, 2026, in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

Abubakar said the police received information at about 1:20pm that heavy gunshots had been heard around the Kwanoni-Gidan Giye axis of the highway.

He said heavily armed bandits had intercepted two vehicles, including a Sharon mini-bus conveying seven passengers from Gusau to Zaria and another bus carrying dry cassava from Sokoto to Funtua, Katsina State.

The statement said the Divisional Police Officer, Tsafe, immediately mobilised Police Tactical Operatives attached to the Violent Crime Response Unit, alongside military personnel under Operation Fansan Yamma, to the scene.

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

“The superior response of the security forces forced the criminals to abandon their mission and retreat towards the mountainous outskirts of Tsafe town, with some of the bandits believed to have sustained gunshot wounds,” the statement said.

The command said all nine occupants of the two vehicles were rescued unharmed.

In a separate operation later the same day, police operatives attached to the VCRU arrested a 50-year-old suspect, identified as Khalid Umar, along the Funtua-Tsafe Federal Highway.

The command alleged that Umar was transporting 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles from Shuwaki Village in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State to Bawa Ganga in Tsafe LGA, Zamfara.

The suspect remains in police custody while the recovered firearms have been secured for further investigation.

Police said investigators were working to determine the source of the weapons, their intended recipients and other individuals who may have been involved in their procurement and movement.

The command assured residents and motorists of continued security operations across the state, particularly along major highways and other vulnerable locations.

It said “sustained joint patrols and intelligence-led operations” would be maintained to protect travellers and prevent criminal elements from operating freely across Zamfara.