Bandits kill 8 Zamfara community guards, driver

At least eight personnel of the Zamfara State Community Guards (CPG) and a commercial driver have been reported killed by bandits in Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.

Multiple sources told Daily Trust that the bandits attacked the CPG personnel otherwise known as Askarawa while on duty at a joint a few metres away from Tsafe town.

Recall that the bandits had early this year killed six policemen on duty at a check-point at the same place.

Eyewitness accounts revealed that the bandits ambushed the CPG personnel around 8am and killed eight of them.

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According to a source, the remains of the victims were deposited at the Tsafe General Hospital and were later handed over to their respective families for burial according to Islamic rites.

The bandits also engaged soldiers in a gun duel at Unguwar Chida village, killing a commercial driver and injuring three soldiers.

Unguwar Chida is a village just a few metres away from Magazu on the same Funtua-Gusau road.

The two separate attacks, according to a resident of Unguwar Chida, were carried out almost at the same time.

According to the source, the bandits opened fire at soldiers, injuring three of them.

“A commercial driver is said to have been killed by the bandits. We only found his lifeless body on the ground and his remains were handed over to his family in Tsafe town,” he said.

A resident of Tsafe, who preferred anonymity, confirmed that the remains of the driver were laid to rest around 4pm.

Confirming the incident, the CPG’s Commander General, General Lawal B. Muhammad (rtd) said eight CPG personnel were killed and three soldiers injured in the two separate attacks.

He said: “After I realised that bandits have made operations in Tsafe a routine exercise, I deployed 105 CPG personnel to the local government and stationed them at this particular point to protect travellers.

“Unfortunately, the bandits on Sunday ambushed my boys. I suspect that the bandits slept there because my boys used to go there early in the morning.

“So, while my boys were about to come down from their patrol van, the bandits opened fire at them and killed some of them on the spot. It is quite unfortunate,” he said.

General Muhammad (rtd) further confirmed that three soldiers were also injured during the second attack at Unguwar Chida village.

“I was returning from Zaria but when I arrived at Magazu I found several vehicles in the village and I was informed that the bandits were operating just a few metres away from the village. So, I quickly informed the military who responded in time.

“They engaged the bandits in a fight but three soldiers were injured. One of them who sustained a serious injury on his jaw is currently receiving medical treatment at Yariman Bakura General Hospital, Gusau,” he said.