Armed bandits stormed Tsafe, the headquarters of Tsafe Local Government Area in Zamfara State, at around 1am on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, firing shots across the town centre and kidnapping five residents, including women. The attack occurred despite a 10pm curfew imposed after a similar raid the previous week, according to Daily Trust.
Midnight Raid Details and Eyewitness Accounts
Residents said they were woken by the sound of sporadic gunfire. One resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he learned of the attack through calls from a friend and a neighbour. "I was sleeping when a friend of mine and a neighbour called me and said, 'Are you hearing what's happening? They are shooting sporadically.' I replied that, yes, I could hear it. Then, after a while, it rained," he recounted.
The attackers forced their way into the home of a man identified as Lamidi, a Yoruba man and the father of the former Chief of Staff to Senator Abdul'aziz Yari Abubakar, where two women were taken. The bandits then moved to the residence of Nura Sani, Senior Special Assistant on Political Matters to Governor Dauda Lawal, but failed to abduct anyone there.
Security Gaps in Low-cost and Nomau Areas
A second resident, also speaking anonymously, said Tsafe had been under a curfew starting at 10pm following a similar bandit attack the previous week. He noted that the targeted areas, identified as Low-cost and Nomau, had no local vigilante presence or security checkpoints, unlike other parts of the town. "Low-cost and Nomau areas have no security checkpoints, and both areas have the same entrance up to Nipost, while the local vigilantes are on constant patrol," he said.
Tsafe LGA Chairman, Hon. Garba Shehu Fanchas, confirmed both the attack and the abduction of five people, adding that no lives were lost. He said security forces and vigilantes had sealed off all known entry points into the town before the raid, but the bandits used an unfamiliar route to reach the centre. "We blocked all the entrances, but unexpectedly, the bandits used another entrance that we had never expected. We just discovered that they were in the heart of the town, and we heard sporadic shooting," he said.
Security Response and Call for Reinforcements
Fanchas said soldiers and personnel from the state security outfit, Askarawa, engaged the attackers and drove them back. "The army and the state security outfit, Askarawa, engaged the bandits, forcing them to flee. But we are yet to confirm any casualties from the bandits. And as you know, they don't usually leave their dead bodies," he said.
The chairman praised the response of security agencies and local vigilantes, while also calling on the government to send additional personnel to protect Tsafe and nearby communities. "We need more security personnel deployment," he said.
Related Attack in Kasuwar Daji
In a separate incident reported by Legit.ng, suspected bandits launched a late-night raid on Kasuwar Daji community in Kaura-Namoda LGA, Zamfara State. At least 6 soldiers were killed after the attackers overran a military outpost protecting the area. Former deputy speaker Hon. Namadi Kasuwar Daji confirmed the attack, saying residents were abducted into the bush.
