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 Daily Trust 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.
“It appears that the bandits in Zamfara State have developed a new strategy of operation, especially in this Dansadau axis. This is the second time they would plant an explosive device in this area within a week. They planted one on Sunday.
“Government should take decisive measures to stop this trend otherwise, travelling by road will now be a difficult thing among the people of the state. The security personnel and communities should be vigilant and always keep an eye on them. This is a terrible method deployed by the bandits and it needs to be tackled as soon as possible.”
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.
“It was this morning, one Golf 3 vehicle stepped on the bomb and exploded. We have six dead bodies here now and eight others sustained injuries. The vehicle was destroyed completely,” Dansadau said.
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 TheNigerian 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.
