Fresh bandit attacks have shattered the fragile calm in parts of Zamfara State, leaving several security personnel and civilians dead, despite ongoing peace initiatives and community engagement efforts.
On Thursday afternoon, October 16, 2025, suspected bandits launched coordinated assaults in Tsafe Local Government Area, including an ambush along the Tsafe–Funtua highway, where they attempted to abduct travellers.
Police operatives swiftly engaged the attackers in a fierce gun duel at Gidan Giye village, but tragically, five officers lost their lives while foiling the abduction attempt.
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said the team, led by ASP John Dogara, was on routine patrol when it was ambushed by heavily armed bandits.
In a separate attack that same afternoon, another group of armed men targeted workers of a road construction company behind the College of Health Sciences and Technology, Tsafe. The assault left three members of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards, known as Askarawa, and an excavator operator dead.
Governor Dauda Lawal confirmed both incidents in a statement on his verified social media page, offering condolences to the families of the fallen officers and other victims.
Elsewhere, bandits reportedly abducted three housewives and a man in Bula community, while residents of Kekun-Waje in Bungudu LGA were also kidnapped in a separate raid.
Residents have identified notorious gang leaders “Black” and “Standard” as being behind recent assaults across Kaura Namoda and Zurmi areas. Meanwhile, Sarki Dan-Alhaji, son of the wanted bandit warlord Kachalla Ado Aleiro, has been linked to violent operations along the Gusau–Tsafe axis, including attacks on Mada village and its surroundings.
Despite these renewed assaults, reports indicate a decline in attacks in some areas such as Shinkafi, Kaura Namoda, and Maru, attributed to ongoing local dialogue and peace efforts with community stakeholders.
Governor Lawal, however, reiterated his firm stance that his administration will not negotiate with terrorists. He emphasized that lasting peace in Zamfara can only be achieved through justice, stronger security operations, and active community cooperation.
Zamfara State has faced relentless insecurity for over a decade, marked by banditry, kidnappings, and communal violence, which have devastated livelihoods and forced the federal government to ban mining activities in the region to curb criminal exploitation.
Earlier, in January 2024, troops of 1 Brigade, Sector 2 Joint Task Force North West, Operation Hadarin Daji, killed a notorious terrorist leader, Saani Rusu, in one of the state’s major counter-terrorism operations.
