Seven people, including women and children, were brutally killed on Thursday evening when suspected bandits attacked a commercial bus along the Tsafe-Funtua road in Zamfara State.
The bands abducted several other passengers in the latest demonstration of escalating insecurity in the region.
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The ambush, at around 7 p.m., occurred shortly before the daily road closure – a security measure recently implemented by the Zamfara State Government to curb attacks on commuters.
Witnesses recounted a scene of horror. “The bandits were just riding on the road when they spotted the bus and immediately began shooting,” a source, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told PREMIUM TIMES.
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“The vehicle was carrying women and children. Seven people, including some innocent children, were killed on the spot.”
According to reports, the bandits, operating on motorcycles, also abducted passengers from two other vehicles.
A local leader from the Tsafe Local Government Area, who demanded not to be named, confirmed the incident.
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“The driver might have been rushing to reach Gusau before the road closure. Perhaps if he had waited until morning in Funtua, this could have been avoided.”
He noted that the commercial bus, after being sprayed with bullets, veered off the road, crashing into the dense bush and overturning.
“Our communities are living in constant fear. Every journey is a gamble with death. We want to live in peace, to travel without the dread of being ambushed or losing our loved ones,” the community leader cried.
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Several injured passengers were taken to the Tsafe General Hospital for medical attention. However, the number of those abducted remains unclear.
Yazid Abubakar, the police spokesperson in Zamfara State, could not be immediately reached as of the time of filing this report.
Lately, there has been an upsurge in bandit attacks in the northwest region.
This newspaper earlier reported that suspected bandits, late Thursday night, killed six people and kidnapped two women at Jargaba in the Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State.
In another attack, on Wednesday, five security personnel and a civilian were killed while responding to simultaneous attacks on Kadisau, Raudama, and Sabon Layi communities in the Faskari Local Government Area of the state.
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