THE Zamfara State Police Command has successfully thwarted coordinated attacks by armed bandits across Gummi, Talata Mafara, and Gusau Local Government Areas, rescuing an abducted official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), other victims, and recovering hundreds of stolen cattle.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, disclosed the development in a statement issued yesterday.
According to him, the attacks began on Tuesday when about 50 motorcycles conveying heavily armed bandits invaded communities in the Ruwan Bore District of Talata Mafara Local Government Area, making away with hundreds of cattle.
During the assault, a woman was reportedly struck by a stray bullet. She was taken to the General Hospital in Talata Mafara, where she is currently receiving treatment.
Abubakar said the attackers later advanced into Gummi Local Government Area, where they abducted an INEC staff member, Aliyu Mohammed, while he was carrying out an official assignment with the National Examinations Council (NECO).
He explained that Mohammed had transported examination scripts from several secondary schools in Gummi to Sokoto before he was kidnapped along the Gummi-Sokoto Road. His official white Toyota Hilux vehicle was later discovered abandoned in the Tafkin area.
Police operatives attached to the Gummi Division recovered the vehicle and secured the examination scripts, which were subsequently handed over to the principal of Government Unity Secondary School, Gummi, Ashiru Umar, for onward delivery to the appropriate office in Sokoto.
Following intelligence reports that a large group of bandits had assembled in Gando Forest with reinforcements from neighbouring Sokoto and Kebbi states, the command deployed its Violent Crime Response Unit after receiving a distress call from troops operating in the area.
The combined security team engaged the bandits in a gun battle, forcing them to retreat after sustaining heavy casualties.
According to the police, the operation led to the safe rescue of the abducted INEC official and another victim.
Hundreds of rustled cattle were also recovered and returned to their owners, while several injured bandits reportedly escaped into the forest with gunshot wounds.
Abubakar further revealed that on July 8, the command responded to another distress call concerning the abduction of motorists and farmers at Kwanar Ganuwa in Gusau Local Government Area.
Operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit, supported by personnel of the Police Mobile Force, confronted the attackers in a fierce exchange of gunfire, compelling them to abandon their captives and flee into the surrounding forest.
The rescued victims were unharmed and taken to safety.
The Commissioner of Police, A.M. Bello, reiterated the command’s resolve to intensify operations against criminal groups and appealed to residents to continue providing prompt and credible information on suspicious activities to security agencies.
The police noted that the latest operation follows similar successes recorded in June, when security operatives repelled coordinated bandit attacks in parts of Zamfara, killing four suspected bandits, recovering a motorcycle, and leaving several others with gunshot injuries during separate operations.
