The Zamfara State Police Command says its operatives, working with military personnel, have foiled a bandits’ attack along the Gusau-Funtua Federal Highway in Tsafe Local Government Area, rescuing nine travellers who were intercepted by the armed criminals.
The command also recovered 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles in a separate operation carried out along the same highway.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said both incidents occurred on August 28, 2026.
According to the police, the Tsafe Divisional Police Headquarters received information about heavy gunfire around the Kwanoni-Gidan Giye axis of the highway.
Preliminary investigations indicated that heavily armed bandits had intercepted and attacked two vehicles travelling along the route.
One of the vehicles was a Sharon mini-bus with registration number KWL 742 ZY, driven by Lawal Dauda from Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The bus was carrying seven passengers travelling from Gusau to Zaria.
The second vehicle was an unregistered bus driven by Haruna Alhaji Nasiru of Danja Local Government Area, Katsina State. His son, Sanusi Haruna, was also in the vehicle, which was transporting dry cassava from Sokoto to Funtua in Katsina State.
Following the distress call, the Divisional Police Officer in Tsafe, alongside operatives of the Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU) and military personnel operating under Operation Fansan Yamma (OPFY), immediately moved to the area.
The security forces engaged the bandits in a fierce gun battle, forcing the attackers to abandon their operation and retreat towards the mountainous outskirts of Tsafe town.
The police said some of the bandits were believed to have sustained gunshot wounds during the encounter.
“All occupants of the two vehicles, totalling nine persons, were successfully rescued unharmed.”
In a separate operation at about 5:30 p.m. on the same day, VCRU operatives acting on credible intelligence arrested a 50-year-old man, Khalid Umar, from Bawa Ganga village in Tsafe Local Government Area.
Umar was intercepted along the Funtua-Tsafe Federal Highway while allegedly transporting 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect was allegedly moving the firearms from Shuwaki village in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State to Bawa Ganga in Tsafe, Zamfara State.
The suspect remains in police custody while the recovered firearms have been secured as investigations continue.
The police said investigators would work to establish the source of the weapons, their intended recipients and other individuals who may be connected to their procurement and movement.
The Command also said the investigation would seek to determine the suspect’s alleged mission and whether other members of a wider criminal network were involved.
The Zamfara State Police Command reassured residents and motorists that it would continue working with other security agencies to protect lives and property and prevent criminal elements from operating freely across the state.
It added that joint patrols and intelligence-led operations would be sustained along major highways and other vulnerable areas to improve the safety of travellers.
