Bandits have attacked a Fulani settlement on the outskirts of Anka town along the Bagega-Anka Road in Zamfara State.
Sources told Channels Television that the armed men stormed the area at about 5pm on Wednesday and began to shoot sporadically.
But the bandits were engaged in a gun duel by the policemen who were stationed in a mining company along the road, an eyewitness said on Thursday.
He stated that no life was lost in the attack, but the bandits rustled an unspecified number of cows belonging to members of the community.
The witness said a motorcycle belonging to the leader of Fulani in Anka was also set ablaze by the armed bandits.
Police authorities in the state have confirmed the attack, saying the bandits were swiftly repelled by security operatives who recovered the rustled cattle from them.
In a statement on Thursday, the spokesperson for the command, Shehu Mohammed, explained that police tactical operatives deployed to Anka were alerted that many bandits had stormed the Fulani settlement to attack and rustle cows.
“A combined police team in collaboration with the military mobilised to the scene where they engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel.
“As a result, they scampered to the forest and escaped with possible gunshot wounds,” Mohammed said.
He added, “All the rustled cows were recovered for the Fulani community members. Rigorous confidence-building patrol is being sustained to avert any attempt by the bandits to regroup for another onslaught.”
In his reaction, the Commissioner of Police in Zamfara, Hussaini Rabiu, commended the joint security operatives for their prompt response to the incident and urged them to sustain the tempo until peace was restored in the state.
He also called on the residents to continue to support the police and other security agencies in the current fight against bandits and other criminals in Zamfara.
