Deploying superior operational capabilities, the Sokoto State Anti-Kidnapping Unit cuts off fleeing bandits at Abdalo Forest, while a separate highway blitz yields a major hard drug bust.
The Sokoto State Police Command has successfully repelled a coordinated, large-scale bandit attack targeted at three agrarian communities within the Wamakko Local Government Area.
In the high-stakes tactical encounter, operatives arrested a suspect, neutralized the assault, and recovered 11 cows and five sheep that had been rustled from local farmers.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Rufai, confirmed the breakthroughs via an official operational briefing distributed to journalists in Sokoto on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
According to Rufai, the command received an emergency distress call on Saturday indicating that heavily armed bandits had simultaneously invaded Zabori, Tambaranga, and Gidan Yero villages in Wamakko.
Responding to the alert, the command’s specialized Anti-Kidnapping Unit was mobilized to set up a tactical bottleneck. The team anticipated the bandits’ withdrawal trail and successfully blocked their escape route at the Abdalo Forest corridor located within the neighboring Gwadabawa Local Government Area.
The tactical encounter quickly escalated into a heavy exchange of gunfights in the dense forest reserve. The specialized police unit out-maneuvered the attackers, using tactical positioning and intense engagement to crack down on the cell.
Unable to withstand the assault, the bandits abandoned their stolen livestock and scattered deeper into the forest, with several sustaining varying degrees of gunshot wounds.
“The operatives engaged the bandits in a fierce gun battle. Due to the superior firepower of the police team, the bandits were overpowered and forced to flee into a nearby forest, many with gunshot wounds. One suspect, identified as Musa Usman of Damba village in Illela LGA, was arrested during the operation,” DSP Ahmad Rufai reported.
In a separate enforcement operation, police operatives conducting a routine stop-and-search sweep along the Kebbi–Sokoto highway intercepted a major pharmaceutical drug ring. Officers stopped two suspected traffickers operating an unregistered Daylong motorcycle on May 27.
A search of their luggage revealed a hidden sack containing a large haul of Indian hemp alongside ten sealed rubber containers packed with Axzol, Benthexol B.P. 5mg, and D5 tablets—all classified as highly restricted psychoactive substances.
While one of the traffickers, Ummaru Abubakar Gugare, was arrested at the scene, his accomplice, identified simply as Ummaru, managed to evade arrest and escaped into the brush.
Commenting on the double victory, the newly deployed Commissioner of Police for Sokoto State, Mr. Hayatu Shaffa, highly commended the bravery and vigilance of his officers. He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to using decisive force to dismantle cattle rustling networks, clear bandit corridors, and halt illicit drug trafficking pipelines across the state.
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