Three police officers were killed in a pre-dawn raid on the Damba area of Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State, according to Punch. The attack occurred around 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, when a large group of bandits riding multiple motorcycles arrived at the security post. The assailants opened fire indiscriminately, killing three officers on duty before reinforcements arrived. The sudden volley of gunfire sent nearby residents scrambling for safety, with many unable to sleep due to the shock of the invasion.
Witness Mohammed Sani, who spoke to Arewa Punch, described the chaos as he attempted to contact the military and the local Divisional Police Officer. He noted that while the Divisional Officer arrived with additional reinforcements, the bandits had already retreated to their hideouts. Sani highlighted the frustration of residents who found their phone lines to the military disconnected during the crisis. The witness maintained that residents of the area panicked, a sentiment echoed by others who described the cacophony of gunshots as a rude shock to the community.
In response to the incident, Zamfara State Police Commissioner Ahmed Mohammed Bello visited the Damba police station to assess the situation. He expressed dismay at what he described as a lukeward attitude among some officers, revealing that he had visited the specific duty post days earlier and found all three officers sleeping. Bello stated that the command would deal with officers found wanting to ensure better readiness in the future. Meanwhile, the state police spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, remained unreachable for further comment as of the report's publication.
The attack has intensified calls for better security in the area, which is located near the Gusau Government House. Resident Alhaji Shibkau Mudi noted that many civil servants and businessmen have already relocated or sold their houses to escape the persistent threat of kidnapping. Mudi appealed to both state and federal governments to deploy additional security agents, arguing that the current presence is insufficient to stop bandits from using the area for ransom-based abductions. Punch's investigations indicated that the exodus from Damba is ongoing, with many residents leaving the state entirely.