Bandits Shoot Retired General Heading Zamfara Community Guards

In a brazen attack on Sunday, bandits shot General Lawal B. Muhammad (rtd), the Director General of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards (CPG), during an assault on motorists in Kucheri village, located in the Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.

Reports indicate that the bandits blocked the busy Funtua-Tsafe road late in the evening, targeting motorists indiscriminately, including the CPG’s DG. During the chaotic incident, several passengers were abducted by the assailants.

A source within the Zamfara State Ministry of Internal Security, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the attack to Daily Trust, stating that General Muhammad is currently receiving medical treatment at the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau, the state capital.

“It is confirmed that the bandits shot the DG of Community Protection Guards, and he is currently receiving treatment,” the source revealed.

This incident follows a recent wave of violence in the area, where bandits killed at least eight CPG personnel and a commercial driver in Tsafe Local Government Area just days earlier.

Additionally, the bandits engaged soldiers in a gun duel at Unguwar Chida village, resulting in the death of a commercial driver and injuries to three soldiers. This village is just a few meters away from Magazu, along the same Funtua-Gusau road.

Residents reported that the two attacks occurred almost simultaneously, intensifying concerns over the deteriorating security situation in Zamfara State.

Reacting to that attack, the General who was shot had said, “After I realised that bandits have made operations in Tsafe a routine exercise, I deployed 105 CPG personnel to the local government and stationed them at this particular point to protect travellers.

“Unfortunately, the bandits on Sunday ambushed my boys. I suspect that the bandits slept there because my boys used to go there early in the morning. So, while my boys were about to come down from their patrol van, the bandits opened fire and killed some of them on the spot. It is quite unfortunate.”