Bandits block highway, abduct unspecified number of road users

Armed bandits have blocked the ever-busy Gusau – Funtua highway, kidnapping unspecified number of travellers.

Yusuf Tsafe, a commuter who is still stranded around the area told our correspondent that the bandits stormed the highway in the early hours of today and mounted a roadblock around the Tazame axis of the road, reports Channels TV.

According to him, the bandits in their large numbers with about 50 motorcycles, each carrying 3 persons, abducted an unspecified number of travellers.

“They entered the road around 7 am, and till around 9am, 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.”

Another commuter also confirmed to our correspondent that Magazu – Kucheri Road which is also the road linking Gusau to Funtua have been blocked by bandits this morning

“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 several states in northwestern and central Nigeria terrorised by heavily armed gangs, who carry out mass abductions for ransom as well as burning and looting homes.

The gangs, who maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have also undertaken large-scale kidnappings of pupils from schools in recent years.

Bandits have recently stepped up attacks, particularly in Katsina and Zamfara states.

Last month, the gangs 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.

Bandits have no ideological leaning and are motivated by financial gain. But analysts and officials have expressed concern over their increasing alliance with jihadists waging a 15-year armed rebellion in the northeast.