The Zamfara State Police Command has rescued 25 people — 10 women and 15 children — after armed bandits attacked Kuraje village in the Damba area of Gusau Local Government Area on Friday night.
Police spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, saying the rescue followed a coordinated response involving patrol teams from the Damba Division, the Department of Operations in Gusau, and the state’s Community Protection Guards (CPG).
According to Mr Abubakar, the bandits stormed the community around 9:45 p.m., shooting sporadically before abducting the victims.
“Upon receiving the distress call, joint police patrol teams and the Community Protection Guards mobilised swiftly to the scene,” he said.
“They pursued the fleeing bandits and engaged them in a coordinated operation. All 25 abducted victims were rescued unhurt.”
He said the rescued women and children were taken to Sabongari Damba for profiling and have since been reunited with their families.
The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Balarabe Maikaba, commended the officers involved in the operation and reiterated the command’s resolve to protect residents across the state.
The rescue comes amid a spate of recent mass abductions in different parts of the country, including the kidnapping of 25 schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State; the killing of worshippers at a church in Eruku, Kwara State; and the abduction of over 300 pupils and 12 teachers at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Agwara, Niger State.
