An unconfirmed number of travellers on Wednesday were confirmed dead after a vehicle conveying them ran on explosives planted along the Dansadau-Gusau Road in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
An anonymous source told media that the explosives were planted by some bandits after the completion of community work on the road.
The source, a resident of Yar Tasha village, narrated, “We recently conducted community work on the road and the bandits used that opportunity to plant the device at one of the spots.
“The victims were rushed to Dansadau General Hospital and nobody can ascertain whether they are dead or alive for now. Security personnel comprising soldiers and police have been deployed to the scene of the incident.
Another resident of the area, identified as Abdullahi Dansadau, told Channels Television that a Volkswagen Golf 3 vehicle exploded after it ran over the explosives, killing three people, and leaving eight others injured.
However, confirming the incident in a statement made available to the TV station the Coordinator, Joint Media Coordination Centre, Joint Task Force North West Operation Fansar Yamma, Lit. Col. Abubakar Abdullahi, stated, “We acknowledge the reports regarding the suspected bandits planting explosives along the Dansadau-Gusau Road, which unfortunately led to some destruction.
“The safety and security of our citizens are of paramount importance. We are currently coordinating with local law enforcement to assess the situation and ensure that those responsible do not go free.”
When contacted on the telephone by our correspondent, the Public Relations Officer, Zamfara State Police Command, Yazid Abubakar, stated that he was yet to confirm the incident.
He also noted that he couldn’t ascertain the number of casualties and those injured.
He said, “At this moment, I don’t have such information but I’ll call the DPO there to confirm whether the incident happened. I’ll get back to you.”
In early September 2024, no fewer than eight security personnel were reportedly killed by bandits near the Tazame village of Tsafe LG of the state.
An indigene of the area, Mubarak Mohammed told PUNCH Online that the security personnel, consisting of five policemen and three soldiers, were attached to a road construction company, Satraco Nigeria Limited, when the armed bandits suddenly came out of their hiding place and opened fire.
Mohammed explained that the deceased police and military personnel were always on the road to give protection to the construction workers who were repairing the Gusau-Tsafe-Zaria road.
