Bandits block major road, shoot retired Nigerian Army General

Tragedy struck at the weekend when bandits blocked the busy Funtua-Tsafe road and attacked motorists, shooting retired General Lawal Muhammad, the Director General of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards (CPG), and abducting scores of passengers.

The attack occurred at Kucheri village in Tsafe local government area, and General Muhammad is currently receiving medical treatment at Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau, the state capital.

A source from the Zamfara State Ministry of Internal Security, who preferred anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to press, confirmed the incident and said the DG was receiving medical treatment at a Hospital in Gusau, the state capital.

“It is confirmed that the bandits shot DG Community Protection Guards and he is currently receiving treatment at Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital,” the source said.

The attack comes days after bandits killed at least eight CPG personnel and a commercial driver in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara.

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Eyewitness accounts revealed that the bandits ambushed the CPG personnel before killing them.

The bandits also engaged soldiers in a gun duel at Unguwar Chida village, killing a commercial driver and injuring three soldiers.

Unguwar Chida is a village just a few metres away from Magazu on the same Funtua-Gusau road.

The two separate attacks, according to a resident of Unguwar Chida, were carried out almost at the same time.

Reacting to that attack, the General who was shot, had said, “After I realised that bandits have made operations in Tsafe a routine exercise, I deployed 105 CPG personnel to the local government and stationed them at this particular point to protect travellers.

“Unfortunately, the bandits on Sunday ambushed my boys. I suspect that the bandits slept there because my boys used to go there early in the morning. So, while my boys were about to come down from their patrol van, the bandits opened fire and killed some of them on the spot. It is quite unfortunate.”

This incident comes on the heels of another devastating attack by bandits, which claimed the lives of at least eight CPG personnel and a commercial driver in Tsafe Local Government Area. The bandits ambushed the CPG personnel, and a subsequent gun duel with soldiers at Unguwar Chida village resulted in the death of a commercial driver and injury to three soldiers.

Muhammad had previously deployed 105 CPG personnel to the area to protect travelers, following a series of bandit attacks. “After I realised that bandits have made operations in Tsafe a routine exercise, I deployed 105 CPG personnel to the local government and stationed them at this particular point to protect travellers,” he said. Unfortunately, the bandits ambushed his team, killing some on the spot.

(DAILY TRUST)