The Zamfara State Police Command has rescued nine travellers who were trapped during an attack by suspected bandits along the Gusau-Funtua Federal Highway in Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.
The security operation, which took place on Friday, August 28, also led to the recovery of 11 locally manufactured AK-47 rifles and the arrest of an alleged arms courier.
The command disclosed this in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar.
According to the statement, the Tsafe Divisional Police Headquarters received a distress call at about 1:20pm reporting heavy gunfire around the Kwanoni-Gidan Giye section of the highway.
The suspected bandits were said to have intercepted two vehicles and attacked the occupants.
One of the vehicles was a Sharon minibus with registration number KWL 742 ZY, driven by Lawal Dauda from Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The vehicle was reportedly conveying seven passengers from Gusau to Zaria.
The second vehicle, which had no registration number, was driven by Haruna Alhaji Nasiru of Danja Local Government Area, Katsina State. It was carrying his son, Sanusi Haruna, and conveying dry cassava from Sokoto to Funtua.
Following the distress call, the Tsafe Divisional Police Officer mobilised operatives of the Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU), alongside military personnel attached to Operation FANSAN YAMMA, to the location.
The security personnel engaged the attackers in a gun battle, forcing them to retreat towards the mountainous outskirts of Tsafe town.
“Some of the bandits are believed to have sustained gunshot wounds,” the statement said.
The police confirmed that all nine occupants of the two vehicles were rescued without injuries.
Meanwhile, at about 5:30pm on the same day, VCRU operatives arrested a 50-year-old suspected arms courier identified as Khalid Umar.
Umar, a resident of Bawa Ganga Village in Tsafe LGA, was apprehended along the Funtua-Tsafe Federal Highway while allegedly transporting 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles.
The command said the arrest followed credible intelligence and preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect was allegedly moving the firearms from Shuwaki Village in Bakori LGA of Katsina State to Bawa Ganga in Zamfara.
The suspect remains in police custody, while the recovered weapons have been secured as investigations continue.
Police said the ongoing probe would establish the origin of the firearms, determine their intended recipients and uncover other individuals who may have participated in their procurement and transportation.
The command further assured motorists and residents of continued security operations, including joint patrols and intelligence-driven deployments along major highways and other vulnerable locations across the state.
According to the police, the measures are intended to restrict the activities of criminal groups and provide greater protection for travellers and residents.
