…Daud Olatunji
Five police officers have been killed, while an unspecified number of their colleagues were reportedly abducted after suspected bandits ambushed a vehicle conveying security personnel along the Sokoto-Gusau highway in Zamfara State.
The attack occurred on Monday night when the officers, who were travelling in a Zamfara State mass transit bus popularly known as Bazamfara, came under heavy gunfire from the armed assailants.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the officers were deployed from Sokoto State to Zamfara to provide security during the All Progressives Congress primary election for the Zamfara North Senatorial District scheduled to hold in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area.
Sources within the police said the personnel were travelling to Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, when the attackers intercepted their vehicle and opened fire at close range.
A source familiar with the incident, identified simply as Uzairu, said the gunmen launched a surprise attack, leaving five officers dead, while some of the surviving personnel were taken away by the assailants.
The number of officers abducted during the attack remained unclear as of the time of filing this report.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Office of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 10, Sokoto, DSP Abdullahi Faruk, said the remains of the five officers had been deposited at the morgue of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.
Faruk, who spoke during a telephone interview on Monday, disclosed that investigations had commenced into the circumstances surrounding the attack.
He, however, promised to provide further details as more information became available.
Similarly, the Zone 10 Police Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Ambursa, confirmed the incident but said he was at the hospital and would issue an official statement later.
When contacted, the Zamfara State Police Command spokesperson declined to comment, explaining that the incident fell within the jurisdiction of the zonal command.
Meanwhile, disturbing videos circulating on social media showed a badly damaged white-and-green Zamfara State mass transit bus believed to have been used by the officers.
The vehicle was riddled with bullet holes, while its windows had been shattered by gunfire.
Bloodstains were also visible inside the bus, with footage purportedly showing the lifeless bodies of some officers, whose hands appeared to have been tied with ropes.
The circumstances surrounding the reported tying of the officers’ hands, as well as the whereabouts of those abducted, remained unclear.
The latest attack underscores the persistent security challenges along the Sokoto-Gusau highway, which has witnessed repeated incidents of banditry and kidnapping in recent months.
The forest corridors linking parts of Sokoto and Zamfara states have remained vulnerable to attacks by armed criminal groups, with travellers and security personnel among those exposed to the violence.
The killing of the officers also raises fresh concerns about the safety of security personnel deployed across the North-West, particularly those travelling through vulnerable routes to carry out official assignments.
.....
