Terrorists Attack Police Station And Block Zamfara Road

Terrorists operating in Zamfara state attacked a police station in the Magami community of Gusau on Tuesday and stole the phones of police officers on duty.

News men reported that the terrorists arrived in the community around 3:40 pm and went directly to the police station.

Magami is one of the communities devastated by the conflict in Zamfara state. Incessant attacks by terrorists have forced several residents to flee to Gusau, the state capital, in search of safety.

A local journalist reporting on terror attacks in the state, Abdul Balarabe, said the attack was possibly the terrorists’ way of sending a clear message to state security agencies.

“From what I’ve learned so far, the terrorists didn’t hurt any of the police officers they found at the counter, but just took their phones and other valuables and made some threats,” Gusau said.

He said that after collecting the phones, the terrorists fired sporadically into the air, causing a commotion before returning to the bush.

Also on Tuesday, terrorists attacked the Funtua-Gusau highway in the state.

There has been an upsurge in terrorist attacks along the Funtua-Gusau highway, the main road linking Zamfara with the neighboring state of Katsina. Residents said the road has become dangerous for motorists and commuters due to terrorist activities.

Road users said that the danger zones on the road include Sheme, Yankara on the Katsina state side of the road and Kucheri, Magazu, Wanzamai on the Zamfara side.

In Tuesday’s attack on motorists, Balarabe said a passenger was shot twice in the leg when the driver of the vehicle he was riding in refused to stop after being ordered to do so by armed men.

“Around 1:05 pm today (Tuesday) night, the terrorists came out in large numbers and blocked the road. The person shot was in a vehicle that refused to stop,” he said. The terrorists blocked the highway from Magazu to Kucheri.

He said that when the soldiers arrived at the scene and cleared the way, the terrorists escaped down a bush path and blocked Wanzamai to Yankara for more than 30 minutes.

A security source who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said that terrorists are taking advantage of the crops planted on the sides of the roads to hide when they are pursued by security personnel.

“The problem we are facing is that the maize, millet and Guinea maize planted by the people have provided the terrorists with a temporary hiding place. They hide in the crops to launch attacks and quickly back off,” the source said.

Police spokesman in Zamfara state, Mohammed Shehu, did not respond to calls and SMS sent to him about the two attacks, but in an earlier statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, he confirmed that terrorists are blocking roads.

He said state police commissioner Kolo Yusuf had visited the most vulnerable roads, including the Funtua-Tsafe highway, and vowed to tackle the activities of terrorists who target motorists.

In the statement, Shehu said additional armed tactical squad officers have been deployed to protect the travellers.

“The Zamfara State Command Police Commissioner, CP Kolo Yusuf psc, today patrolled the entire Gusau – Yandoto – Tsafe – Funtua Road to carry out a practical assessment of the security challenges and personally supervised some strategic points where the operational deployment additional tactical police forces. Squad was carried out to ensure the safety of travelers along the route.

“Over the course of the patrol, the Police Commissioner also mapped out some prominent and strategic locations along the road that were instantly fortified with the deployment of tactical Police officers from the Police Mobile Force (PMF), the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), and the Command’s Anti-Violence Squad,” he said.

Source: Premium Times