An unknown number of travelers have been abducted by armed gunmen who blocked the busy Gusau–Funtua highway in Zamfara state.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday, September 12, near the Tazame area of the road.
According to a commuter in the vicinity, the gunmen, who arrived in large numbers, set up a roadblock along the highway.
Witnesses said that the attackers were riding approximately 50 motorcycles, with each bike carrying three individuals. During the ambush, they abducted an unspecified number of travelers, causing panic and disruptions along the highway.
“They entered the road around 7 am, and till around 9 am, they were still there, we just parked by the roadside waiting for the military to clear the road, we are seeing the bandits taking people inside the bush.
“The military guntruck moved to the area earlier, we were just hearing gunshots, but they are yet to open the road. Till now, no vehicle has been allowed to pass.”
Another commuter also confirmed that Magazu – the gunmen- blocked Kucheri Road, the road linking Gusau to Funtua.
“The military men asked us to stop because the bandits blocked the road, we are still waiting for them to clear the road,” the source said.
The spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, announced that additional troops, including operatives from the Nigerian Police Mobile Squad, have been deployed to the affected areas to secure and clear the highway.
Zamfara is among several states in Northwestern and Central Nigeria plagued by heavily armed gangs that engage in mass kidnappings for ransom, as well as arson and looting of homes.
These criminal groups, often referred to as bandits, maintain camps in the vast forest that spans Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states. In recent years, they have also carried out large-scale abductions of students from schools, further exacerbating the security crisis in the region.
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