An eyewitness has detailed a tragic incident where bandits reportedly Attacked a Police Station, killed a Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) and set ablaze the local building in Zurmi town, Zamfara State.
Mohammed Ibrahim, a resident of Zurmi, recounted that the bandits, armed with sophisticated weapons and numbering in large groups, launched the attack around 5 pm on Sunday. The assailants targeted the police station upon arrival, opening fire indiscriminately. In the ensuing chaos, the DCO was fatally shot, and other police officers sustained injuries. The bandits then set the police station on fire, causing extensive damage.
According to Ibrahim, the bandit assault on the police station was purportedly in retaliation for the killing of three of their comrades by local vigilantes. The vigilante group, accompanied by the police, had raided a bandit camp in the forest, resulting in the death of three bandits and the capture of another.
In a vengeful response, the bandits mobilized and descended on the police station, believing that their captured associate was being held there. Failing to locate their comrade, they resorted to violence, targeting law enforcement personnel and property.
Military personnel were deployed to Zurmi town following the attack, and the bandits retreated to the forest.
Efforts to contact the Zamfara State Police Public Relations Officer, Yazid Abubakar, for official confirmation and further details, were unsuccessful as calls to his mobile phone went unanswered.