Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A joint security team comprising the police, mobile force, and civil security volunteers repelled a bandit attack along the Gadar Manya highway in Zamfara State on Monday, forcing the assailants to flee with gunshot wounds after a fierce exchange of gunfire that lasted approximately two hours. The confrontation occurred at about 4:00 p.m. along the Gadar Manya axis in Anka Local Government Area, a corridor notorious for ambushes, highway robberies, and mass abductions of travellers.
The Zamfara State Police Command disclosed the operation in a statement issued on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, signed by its spokesperson. According to the statement, the joint security team—comprising operatives of the VCRU (Violent Crime Response Unit), ZFS (Zamfara State Security Network), the Mobile Police Force, and Civil Security Volunteers—was conducting routine anti‑banditry patrols along the Gadar Manya highway when they encountered a group of armed bandits attempting to cross the road.
According to the police, the criminals opened fire immediately upon sighting the security personnel. “On sighting the security team, the bandits opened fire, leading to an intense exchange of gunfire that lasted for about two hours. The operatives responded effectively, forcing the criminals to retreat into the bush with suspected gunshot wounds,” the statement read. The security team sustained no casualties, the police confirmed, though the exact number of bandits neutralised or injured was not disclosed. “Following the encounter, two motorcycles abandoned by the fleeing bandits were recovered at the scene,” the statement added. Police said the recovery brings the total number of motorcycles seized during recent anti‑banditry operations to twelve. It also noted that efforts were underway to track down and arrest the fleeing suspects.
The Gadar Manya highway, a stretch of road connecting several communities in Anka LGA, has become a recurring flashpoint for armed banditry in Zamfara’s North‑West corridor. The area lies near the Gando Forest, a vast, semi‑accessible woodland that straddles the boundary between Zamfara and Sokoto states and serves as a staging ground for criminal gangs operating across the region. The same highway and its tributary routes have been the scene of multiple attacks and abductions over the past year, with many travellers forced to pay illegal tolls to armed groups. Security sources have previously identified the axis as a major transit route for bandits moving between Zamfara and neighbouring Kebbi, Niger and Sokoto states.
The Monday operation was preceded by another on Saturday, June 6, when security forces raided a suspected bandit enclave in the Jangebe Forest of Talata Mafara Local Government Area. That operation, which involved a combination of aerial and ground forces, led to the neutralisation of three armed bandits and the arrest of a suspect. The Jangebe Forest has historically been a stronghold for bandits who often cross between Zamfara and the eastern fringes of Sokoto State. The coordinated approach—blending police tactical units, mobile force, civil volunteers, and military support—appears to be part of a broader strategy to simultaneously disrupt bandit movements on highways and dismantle their forest enclaves.
The police statement underscored that the command remains “resolute in its commitment to protecting lives and property” and urged members of the public to continue providing useful information to support security operations across the state. This appeal is significant because intelligence from local communities has historically been a weak link in the region’s counter‑insurgency efforts; some community members have been known to collaborate with bandits, either out of fear or for financial gain. While the Monday ambush was a tactical success, the larger question is whether such operations can be sustained at the scale and tempo needed to reverse the steady encroachment of banditry into Zamfara’s rural landscape.
The confrontation came just one day after police confirmed that armed bandits had abducted 39 residents of Magamin Diddi in Maradun LGA, who had gathered for a community dialogue with the parents of a suspected bandit leader. The abductions, which occurred around the same time as the Gadar Manya gunfight, illustrate the two‑front challenge that Zamfara security forces face: they must simultaneously chase armed gangs along highways and rescue civilians taken directly from their homes. It also highlights a grim pattern—bandits often use peace overtures to disarm local suspicion before striking. The Maradun incident was the second such betrayal in two weeks; 50 elders on a reconciliation mission were earlier abducted in a neighbouring LGA.
The police spokesperson noted that the gunfight at Gadar Manya demonstrated the effectiveness of intelligence-led patrols and inter‑agency cooperation, particularly the role of civil security volunteers. These volunteers, often hunters or local residents familiar with the terrain, have become increasingly critical to the state’s security architecture as conventional forces remain overstretched. The Gadar Manya team, which appears to have acted on specific threat indicators, was able to detect the bandits’ movement before they could cross the highway and execute what would likely have been another kidnapping spree.
For the travellers who use the Anka road daily, the news of the repelled attack may offer fleeting reassurance. But for the community members of Magamin Diddi, still waiting for word of their 39 relatives, the gunfight at Gadar Manya is merely another battle in a war that has no end in sight. The motorcycles seized on Monday are now in police custody. The two hours of sustained gunfire are over. But the forest is still standing, and the bandits, many of them carrying fresh wounds, have already slipped back into the bush. The question that remains, as the police command itself acknowledged, is not whether the bandits will return, but where and when.
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