By Ado Oyeyemi
The Zamfara State Police Command has rescued an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission and several other kidnapped victims after repelling coordinated bandit attacks across Gummi, Talata Mafara and Gusau Local Government Areas of the state.
The operation also led to the recovery of hundreds of rustled cattle, which were returned to their owners, following fierce gun battles with the armed criminals.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, disclosed the development in a statement issued on Thursday, saying the attacks began on Tuesday when about 50 motorcycles conveying armed bandits invaded communities in the Ruwan Bore District of Talata Mafara Local Government Area and rustled hundreds of cattle.
He said a woman sustained injuries from a stray bullet during the attack and was rushed to the General Hospital in Talata Mafara, where she is receiving treatment.
According to the police, the attackers later moved into Gummi Local Government Area, where they abducted an INEC staff member, Aliyu Mohammed, who was on official duty in collaboration with the National Examinations Council.
Mohammed had reportedly transported examination scripts from various secondary schools in Gummi to Sokoto before he was abducted along the Gummi-Sokoto Road. His official white Toyota Hilux vehicle was later found abandoned at the Tafkin area.
Police operatives from the Gummi Division recovered the abandoned vehicle along with 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 authorities in Sokoto.
Abubakar said the command immediately deployed its Violent Crime Response Unit after receiving intelligence that a large group of armed bandits had assembled in Gando Forest with reinforcements from neighbouring Sokoto and Kebbi states.
He said security operatives engaged the bandits in a fierce gun battle, forcing them to flee after suffering heavy casualties.
During the operation, the abducted INEC official and another victim were rescued unharmed, while hundreds of rustled cattle were recovered and reunited with their owners. Several fleeing bandits were also believed to have escaped with gunshot wounds.
The police spokesman further disclosed that operatives responded to another distress call on July 8 following the abduction of motorists and farmers at Kwanar Ganuwa in Gusau Local Government Area.
He said officers of the Violent Crime Response Unit, supported by the Police Mobile Force, confronted the attackers in another exchange of gunfire, compelling them to abandon their captives and flee into the surrounding forest.
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All the victims were rescued unharmed and taken to safety.
The Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State, A.M. Bello, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to sustaining aggressive operations against criminal groups and urged residents to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies to strengthen the fight against insecurity.
