The Zamfara State Police Command has rescued nine travellers trapped during a suspected bandit attack along the Gusau-Funtua Federal Highway in Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.

The command also arrested a suspected arms courier and recovered 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles in a separate operation along the same highway.

The incidents occurred on Friday, August 28, 2026, according to a statement issued on Saturday by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar.

Abubakar said trouble began at about 1:20pm when the Tsafe Divisional Police Headquarters received reports of heavy gunshots around the Kwanoni-Gidan Giye axis of the highway.

According to him, suspected bandits had intercepted two vehicles and attacked their occupants.

One of the vehicles, a Sharon mini-bus with registration number KWL 742 ZY, was driven by Lawal Dauda from Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State and was conveying seven passengers from Gusau to Zaria.

The second vehicle, an unregistered bus driven by Haruna Alhaji Nasiru of Danja Local Government Area, Katsina State, was carrying his son, Sanusi Haruna, and transporting dry cassava from Sokoto to Funtua.

The police said the Tsafe Divisional Police Officer, alongside operatives of the Violence Crime Response Unit and military personnel under Operation FANSAN YAMMA, immediately responded to the distress call.

The security personnel engaged the attackers in a gun battle, forcing them to abandon the operation and flee towards the mountainous outskirts of Tsafe town.

“Some of the bandits are believed to have sustained gunshot wounds,” the statement said.

The command said all nine occupants of the two vehicles were rescued unharmed.

In a separate operation at about 5:30pm, VCRU operatives arrested a 50-year-old suspected arms courier, identified as Khalid Umar, allegedly conveying 11 locally fabricated AK-47 rifles.

Umar, a resident of Bawa Ganga Village in Tsafe LGA, was intercepted along the Funtua-Tsafe Federal Highway following credible intelligence, the police said.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the suspect was allegedly transporting the firearms from Shuwaki Village in Bakori LGA of Katsina State to Bawa Ganga in Zamfara.

The suspect remains in police custody, while the recovered firearms have been secured as investigations continue.

The command said the investigation would establish the source and intended recipients of the weapons and identify other persons connected with their procurement and movement.

The police assured motorists and residents that joint patrols and intelligence-led operations would be sustained along major highways and other vulnerable areas across the state.

According to the command, the measures are aimed at denying criminal elements freedom of action and ensuring the safety of travellers and residents.