Armed bandits on Saturday blocked the busy Gusau-Funtua highway and kidnapped an unknown number of travelers.
The bandits obstructed the road between Kucheri and Magazu communities in Tsafe Local Government Area, opening fire on passing vehicles.
The Zamfara State Police Command spokesperson, ASP Yazid Abubakar, confirmed the incident in a phone conversation with Channels Television.
He stated that an unspecified number of travelers were abducted during the attack, and that police, along with other security agencies, are conducting joint rescue operations to free the victims.
“The incident happened this afternoon. The bandits blocked the road and started shooting at the commuters, they kidnapped some of them,” Abubakar said.
“The command in collaboration with other security agencies are working hand in hand to make sure the kidnapped victims are rescued.”
Abubakar refuted claims that five mobile police officers were abducted during a recent shootout with bandits.
In recent times, armed bandits have launched multiple attacks along the highway.
Zamfara is one of several states in northwestern and central Nigeria plagued by heavily armed gangs, who are involved in mass abductions for ransom, as well as the burning and looting of homes.
These gangs, who operate from camps in a vast forest spanning Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states, have also engaged in large-scale kidnappings of schoolchildren in recent years.
Recently, the bandits have intensified their attacks, particularly in Katsina and Zamfara states.
Last month, they attacked four villages in the Sabuwa district of Katsina state, killing 25 people, mostly local vigilantes, in what appeared to be retaliation for military operations targeting their hideouts, according to a local official.
Although these bandits have no ideological agenda and are driven by financial motives, analysts and officials have raised concerns about their growing collaboration with jihadist groups engaged in a 15-year insurgency in northeastern Nigeria.