By Ado Oyeyemi
The Zamfara State Police Command has launched a coordinated operation to rescue six Islamic clerics abducted by suspected bandits along the Dakko-Damri feeder road in Bakura Local Government Area of the state.
The clerics were reportedly kidnapped around 11:30am on Saturday, September 12, 2026, after armed men allegedly ambushed the vehicle conveying them to Talata Mafara.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Yazid Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement issued in Gusau on Sunday.
Abubakar said the assailants, who were reportedly armed with sophisticated weapons, intercepted the vehicle carrying the clerics along the feeder road before whisking them away.
He said all six victims were Islamic clerics identified as Imams and were travelling to Talata Mafara when the incident occurred.
According to the PPRO, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Bakura Division immediately mobilised personnel from the police command, including members of the Vigilante and Crime Response Unit, alongside other security agencies, to the scene.
He said the operatives had commenced an intensive search of the surrounding bushes in a bid to locate and rescue the abducted clerics and arrest those responsible for the attack.
The Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State, Ahmed Bello, was said to have directed the operatives involved in the operation to intensify efforts and deploy all available resources towards securing the safe release of the victims.
The command also appealed to residents to provide credible and timely information that could assist the security agencies in locating the victims and apprehending the suspects.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has dismissed reports that the clerics were abducted from the residence of former Zamfara State Governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, in Talata Mafara Local Government Area.
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The Army’s position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 8 Division, Nigerian Army/Sector 2, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, Lt-Col. Olaniyi Osoba.
