Bandits ambush, kill 8 Zamfara community protection guards

Eight personnel of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards, also known as Askarawa, have been killed in an ambush by bandits.

The tragic incident occurred on Monday near Tsafe town, the headquarters of Tsafe Local Government Area, according to Brigadier General Mohammed Lawal, the Commander of the state’s security outfit.

The Community Protection Guards, established by Governor Dauda Lawal to support other security agencies in the fight against banditry, were stationed at a checkpoint a few kilometers from Tsafe.

They had been deployed to the area due to the frequent abduction of travelers along the Gusau-Funtua Highway. Their presence had led to a significant reduction in kidnappings prior to the ambush.

“When I got to know about the bandits’ route around that area which they used to kidnap travelers, I told the Governor and we deployed the CPGs to that side, armed with two Hilux vehicles; the area is covered by mountains,” he said.

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The commander added that “for about two months now, they have been there, they will resume early in the morning and vacate the place around 6:30 pm for other patrols. Since then, kidnappings along that axis have been reduced.”

“The bandits slept in a community around the area. In the morning when the Hilux vehicle dropped the first set to our personnel and returned to pick others, the bandits who had already laid ambush opened fire on them and unfortunately, we lost eight of our men, and one traveler was also shot,” Lawal said.

Despite the incident, the commander reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to getting rid of security threats in the state.

“As they (bandits) are also planning, we are also planning because I just discovered another route where the bandits block the road to kidnap people around Wanzamai. We will not relent and Insha Allah we will flush them out of this state,” he said.