JUST-IN: Travelers Kidnapped As Bandits Block Gusau-Funtua Highway

An undisclosed number of travelers have been reportedly kidnapped after armed bandits blocked the frequently traveled Gusau – Funtua highway.

A commuter who is still stranded around the area, Yusuf Tsafe told Channels Television that the bandits stormed the highway in the early hours of Thursday and mounted a roadblock around the Tazame axis of the road.

According to Tsafe, the bandits in their large numbers with about 50 motorcycles, each carrying 3 persons, abducted an unspecified number of travelers.

“They entered the road around 7 am, and till around 9 am, they were still there, we just parked by the roadside waiting for the military to clear the road, we are seeing the bandits taking people inside the bush.

“The military guntruck moved to the area earlier, we were just hearing gunshots, but they are yet to open the road. Till now, no vehicle has been allowed to pass.”

Another commuter also confirmed that Magazu – Kucheri Road which is also the road linking Gusau to Funtua has been blocked by bandits this morning.

“The military men asked us to stop because the bandits blocked the road, we are still waiting for them to clear the road,” the source said.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Zamfara State Police Command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, said additional troops, especially operatives of the Nigerian Police Mobile Squad have been deployed to the affected areas to clear the road.

Zamfara is one of several states in Northwestern and central Nigeria terrorised by heavily armed gangs, who carry out mass abductions for ransom as well as burning and looting homes.

The gangs, who maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states, have also undertaken large-scale kidnappings of pupils from schools in recent years.