Zamfara Police Rescue 9 Travellers, Arrest Arms Courier After Gun Battle With Bandits
TASAFE, Zamfara State – The Zamfara State Police Command has rescued nine travellers who were trapped in a bandit attack along the Gusau-Funtua Federal Highway in Tsafe Local Government Area, following a fierce gun battle between security forces and the assailants. The police also arrested a suspected arms courier and recovered 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles in a separate operation along the same highway on Friday, August 28, 2026.
The incident occurred at about 1:20 pm when the Tsafe Divisional Police Headquarters received reports of heavy gunshots around the Kwanoni-Gidan Giye axis of the highway. According to a statement issued by the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar, 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, which 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. All nine occupants of the two vehicles were rescued unharmed.
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In a separate operation at about 5:30 pm the same day, VCRU operatives arrested a 50-year-old man, Khalid Umar, who was 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 have 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.
Friday’s rescue operation comes just days after a more deadly attack on the same highway. On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, a large group of heavily armed bandits blocked the Gusau-Funtua Federal Highway near Unguwar Chida Village, Tsafe LGA, and opened fire on motorists and passengers. During that attack, eight travellers were killed, including the driver of a Sharon vehicle and seven passengers, while eight others were abducted and nine sustained gunshot injuries. Security forces later pursued that same group of bandits and engaged them in a gun battle, resulting in the neutralisation of 17 suspected bandits, according to police. Several others reportedly escaped with gunshot wounds. The police and military were still conducting operations to track the fleeing members of the gang and rescue the abducted passengers as of Thursday.
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. The statement said joint patrols comprising the police, military, Community Protection Guards, hunters and local vigilantes have been deployed along the highway and other vulnerable locations. It said the measures were aimed at denying criminal elements freedom of action and ensuring the safety of travellers. The Commissioner of Police has directed operatives to sustain the ongoing search-and-rescue operations with renewed determination to secure the release of the abducted passengers and bring the fleeing bandits to justice.