Bandits mount roadblock on Zamfara highway, abduct travellers
Terrorists have blocked the busy Gusau/Funtua highway in Zamfara State and kidnapped an unspecified number of travellers.
Yusuf Tsafe, a commuter, who is still stranded around the area told newsmen that the bandits stormed the highway in the early hours of Thursday and mounted a roadblock around the Tazame axis of the road.
According to him, the bandits in their large numbers with about 50 motorcycles, each carrying three persons, abducted an unspecified number of road users.
“They entered the road around 7 am, and till around 9 am, they were still there, we just parked by the roadside waiting for the military to clear the road, we are seeing the bandits taking people inside the bush.
“The military gun truck moved to the area earlier, we were just hearing gunshots, but they are yet to open the road. Till now, no vehicle has been allowed to pass,” he said.
To corroborate the report, another commuter told newsmen that Magazu – Kucheri Road which is also the road linking Gusau to Funtua have been blocked by the bandits.
READ ALSO: Bandits attack commercial bus on Abuja/Kaduna road, abduct passengers
“The military men asked us to stop because the bandits blocked the road, we are still waiting for them to clear the road,” the source said.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the Zamfara State Police Command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, said additional troops, especially operatives of the Nigerian Police Mobile Squad have been deployed to the affected areas to clear the road.
Zamfara is one of the several states in North-Western and central Nigeria terrorised by heavily armed gangs, who carry out mass abductions for ransom as well as burning and looting homes.
The terrorists maintain camps in huge forests straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger States.
READ ALSO: Terrorists mount checkpoint on Gusau-Sokoto highway, kidnap 26 travellers
Bandits have recently stepped up attacks, particularly in Katsina and Zamfara states.
Few weeks back, the terrorists raided four villages in Katsina state’s Sabuwa district, killing 25 people, mostly local vigilantes, in apparent reprisals over military offensives on their hideouts, according to a local official.
Proofreading and Editing by Gift Luckson and Hafsat Aleeyu Muye, Editor at Neptune Prime
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