The Zamfara State Police Command says security forces have thwarted a bandit attack on the Gusau-Funtua Federal Highway in Tsafe Local Government Area, rescuing nine people intercepted by the armed attackers.
The command also announced the recovery of 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles during a separate operation on the same highway.
Police spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said both incidents occurred on August 28, 2026.
According to Abubakar, officers at the Tsafe Divisional Police Headquarters received reports of heavy gunfire around the Kwanoni-Gidan Giye section of the highway.
Initial findings indicated that armed bandits had stopped and attacked two vehicles travelling along the route.
One of the vehicles was a Sharon minibus, registration number KWL 742 ZY, driven by Lawal Dauda from Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The vehicle was carrying seven passengers travelling from Gusau to Zaria.
The second vehicle, an unregistered bus driven by Haruna Alhaji Nasiru of Danja Local Government Area in Katsina State, was carrying his son, Sanusi Haruna. It was transporting dry cassava from Sokoto to Funtua in Katsina State.
After receiving the distress call, the Tsafe Divisional Police Officer mobilised police operatives from the Violence Crime Response Unit, alongside military personnel deployed under Operation Fansan Yamma.
The security team engaged the attackers in a gun battle, forcing them to abandon the assault and retreat towards the mountainous outskirts of Tsafe town.
Police said some of the bandits were believed to have sustained gunshot injuries during the confrontation.
“All occupants of the two vehicles, totalling nine persons, were successfully rescued unharmed,” Abubakar said.
Later the same day, at about 5:30pm, VCRU operatives acting on intelligence arrested a 50-year-old suspect, Khalid Umar, from Bawa Ganga village in Tsafe Local Government Area.
Umar was intercepted on the Funtua-Tsafe Federal Highway while allegedly transporting 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles.
Police said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect was moving the weapons from Shuwaki village in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State to Bawa Ganga in Tsafe.
The suspect remains in police custody while the recovered firearms have been secured for further investigation.
Investigators are expected to establish the source of the weapons, their intended recipients and other individuals who may have been involved in their procurement and movement.
The police command said it would continue working with other security agencies to protect motorists and residents and prevent criminal groups from operating freely across Zamfara.
It added that joint patrols and intelligence-led operations would be sustained along major highways and other areas considered vulnerable to attacks.
