BREAKING: Bandits Ambush Police Team On Sokoto-Gusau Road, Kill 5 Officers, Abduct Others

Tragedy struck on Monday night along the Sokoto-Gusau highway as suspected bandits ambushed a police team, killing five police officers and abducting others.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the officers were travelling in a Zamfara State mass transit bus, popularly known as Bazamfara, en route to Gusau, the state capital, when they came under heavy gunfire.

Sources within the police said the officers were deployed from Sokoto to Zamfara for a special duty to provide security for the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for Zamfara North Senatorial District holding in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area.

A source at the scene who simply gave his name as Uzairu disclosed that the attackers intercepted the bus and opened fire at close range, leading to the instant death of the officers, while some others were abducted.

The exact number of officers abducted could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.

Confirming the incident to LEADERSHIP, the spokesperson of the Office of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 10, Sokoto, DSP Abdullahi Faruk, said the remains of the five deceased officers had been deposited at the morgue of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto.

Faruk, who spoke in a telephone interview on Monday, said investigation into the attack had commenced and promised to provide further details later.

Similarly, the Zone 10 Police Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Ambursa, confirmed the attack but said he was currently in the hospital and would issue an official statement later.

When contacted, the Zamfara State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer said the command was not authorised to comment on the matter as it falls under the jurisdiction of the zonal command.

Videos circulating on social media showed a white-and-green Zamfara State mass transit bus badly damaged by gunfire, with bullet holes across its body, shattered windows and bloodstains, while lifeless bodies of some officers were seen inside the bus with hands tied with ropes.

The Sokoto-Gusau highway has remained a hotspot for banditry and kidnapping in recent months, with security operatives often targeted by criminal elements operating in the forest corridor.