Police Rescue Abducted INEC Staff, Recover Rustled Cattle in Zamfara
The Zamfara State Police Command has rescued an abducted staff member of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), freed several kidnap victims, repelled coordinated bandit attacks, and recovered hundreds of rustled cattle during separate security operations in Gummi, Talata Mafara and Gusau Local Government Areas. The operations, carried out in collaboration with military personnel, also […]
A Nigerian Police Officer
The Zamfara State Police Command has rescued an abducted staff member of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), freed several kidnap victims, repelled coordinated bandit attacks, and recovered hundreds of rustled cattle during separate security operations in Gummi, Talata Mafara and Gusau Local Government Areas.
The operations, carried out in collaboration with military personnel, also forced armed bandits to retreat with heavy casualties after a fierce gun battle in Gando Forest.
Police spokesman, DSP Yazid Abubakar, disclosed the development in a statement on Thursday, describing the operations as another significant breakthrough in the Command’s ongoing campaign against banditry and other violent crimes across the state.
According to him, heavily armed bandits riding on about 50 motorcycles invaded villages around Ruwan Bore District in Talata Mafara Local Government Area, where they rustled hundreds of cattle and injured a woman who was struck by a stray bullet.
- Four trapped, three rescued as building collapses in Kano
- From Tinubu to Onnoghen: How detained ex-CCT Chairman handled high-profile cases
The victim was evacuated to the General Hospital, Talata Mafara, where she is receiving treatment.
The attackers later moved towards Gummi Local Government Area and abducted Mr. Aliyu Mohammed, an INEC official who was on assignment with the National Examinations Council (NECO).
The police said the victim had transported NECO examination scripts from secondary schools in Gummi to Sokoto before he was abducted along the Gummi–Sokoto Road.
His official white Toyota Hilux vehicle, bearing registration number FG 853-V01, was later found abandoned at Tafkin Area.
Police operatives from Gummi Division promptly responded to the incident, recovered the vehicle and secured the examination scripts, which were subsequently handed over to the Principal of Government Unity Secondary School, Gummi, Mr. Ashiru Umar, for onward transmission to the appropriate NECO office in Sokoto.
The statement added that following a distress call from troops conducting operations in Gando Forest, the Command deployed operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) to reinforce the military after intelligence revealed that bandits had mobilised reinforcements from neighbouring Sokoto and Kebbi states to launch retaliatory attacks.
The combined security team engaged the criminals in a fierce gun battle at about 2:45 a.m. on July 8, forcing them to retreat into the forest with heavy casualties.
During the operation, the abducted INEC official and another kidnapped victim were rescued unhurt, while hundreds of rustled cattle were recovered and returned to their owners.
Police said several fleeing bandits escaped with varying degrees of gunshot injuries.
In another operation carried out later the same day at about 9:55 a.m., security operatives responded to a distress call over the abduction of motorists and farmers at Kwanar Ganuwa in Gusau Local Government Area.
Personnel of the VCRU, supported by operatives of the Police Mobile Force (PMF), swiftly engaged the bandits in a gun duel, compelling them to abandon their captives and flee into the surrounding forest.
All the kidnapped victims were rescued unhurt.
Commending the operatives for their courage and professionalism, the Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State, CP A.M. Bello, reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to sustaining aggressive operations against banditry and other criminal activities.
He also urged residents to continue supporting security agencies with credible and timely information to assist ongoing efforts to rid the state of criminal elements.