In its sustained anti-banditry operations, the Zamfara State Police Command has recorded another significant operational breakthrough following the swift intervention of Police Tactical Operatives and other security forces, which foiled a bandits’ attack along the Gusau–Funtua Federal Highway in Tsafe Local Government Area and successfully rescued all occupants of two vehicles intercepted by the armed criminals.
A statement signed by the command public relations officer DSP Yazid Abubakar said the incident occurred on 28th August 2026 at about 1320hrs, when the Tsafe Divisional Police Headquarters received information about heavy gunshots around the Kwanoni–Gidan Giye axis of the highway.
Preliminary investigation revealed that heavily armed bandits had intercepted and attacked two vehicles: a Sharon mini-bus, with registration number KWL 742 ZY, driven by Lawal Dauda, male, of Zaria LGA, Kaduna State, conveying seven passengers from Gusau to Zaria; and an unregistered bus driven by Haruna Alhaji Nasiru, male, conveying his son, Sanusi Haruna, both of Danja LGA, Katsina State. The second vehicle was transporting dry cassava from Sokoto to Funtua, Katsina State.
Upon hearing the gunshots, the Divisional Police Officer, Tsafe, alongside operatives of the Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU) and military personnel under Operation Fansan Yamma (OPFY), swiftly mobilised to the scene and engaged the bandits in a fierce gun duel.
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.All occupants of the two vehicles, totalling nine (9) persons, were successfully rescued unharmed.
In a separate operation on the same date at about 1730hrs, operatives of the VCRU, acting on credible intelligence, arrested a 50-year-old male suspect identified as Khalid Umar, of Bawa Ganga Village, Tsafe LGA.
The suspect was intercepted along the Funtua–Tsafe Federal Highway while allegedly conveying eleven (11) locally fabricated AK-47 rifles.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect was conveying the firearms from Shuwaki Village, Bakori LGA, Katsina State, to Bawa Ganga, Tsafe LGA, Zamfara State.
The suspect is currently in Police custody, while the recovered firearms have been secured for further investigation aimed at establishing their source, intended recipients, and other persons connected to their procurement and movement, as well as the suspect’s mission.
The Command reassured residents and motorists that the Command, in collaboration with other security agencies, remains resolute in its efforts to protect lives and property and deny criminal elements freedom of action across the State.
Meanwhile, sustained joint patrols and intelligence-led operations along major highways and other vulnerable areas will be maintained to ensure the safety and securityof travellers.
