Zamfara ambush: gunmen kill at least eight security personnel on police convoy near Tsafe, Nigeria
Five police officers and three state guards died when gunmen ambushed a convoy near Gidan-Giye in Zamfara's Tsafe area; some officers may be missing.
At a glance
- Gunmen ambushed a police convoy near Gidan-Giye village in Tsafe local government area of Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria, killing at least eight security personnel.
- The dead were five police officers and three members of the Community Protection Guard (CPG), a state-backed force that works alongside the police.
- Police said they recovered five officers' bodies, rescued seven officers and evacuated two wounded; the attackers took five AK-47 rifles.
- One officer said some colleagues were abducted, but authorities have not confirmed how many are missing.
Gunmen have killed at least eight members of Nigeria's security forces in an ambush on a police convoy in Zamfara state, in the country's northwest. The dead were five police officers and three members of the Community Protection Guard (CPG), a state-backed force that supports the police, local security officials said on Tuesday, November 3.
The attack happened near Gidan-Giye village in Tsafe local government area, on one of the most dangerous stretches of road in a state where armed gangs, known locally as bandits, have kidnapped and killed thousands of people over the past decade.
What the police confirmed
Police said they recovered the bodies of five officers after the attack, rescued seven others and evacuated two wounded officers for treatment. The attackers made off with five AK-47 rifles.
Abubakar Isa, a member of the CPG, said the attackers struck near Gidan-Giye and that three guards were killed alongside the police officers. That brings the confirmed toll to eight.
One police officer said some colleagues had been taken away by the attackers. Authorities have not confirmed whether anyone was abducted or how many people are unaccounted for, so the number of victims could rise.
| Detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Police officers killed | 5 |
| Community Protection Guard members killed | 3 |
| Officers rescued | 7 |
| Wounded officers evacuated | 2 |
| Weapons seized by attackers | 5 AK-47 rifles |
| Officers reported abducted | Unconfirmed |
According to accounts from surviving officers carried in Nigerian local reports, the gunmen opened fire on the last vehicle in the convoy. Some local reports said the officers had been travelling from neighbouring Sokoto state for a security assignment linked to a political party primary election; police have not publicly confirmed the purpose of the trip. No group has claimed the attack.
Tsafe's road keeps being hit
Gidan-Giye lies on the Gusau–Funtua road, the main route linking Zamfara's capital with Katsina and Kaduna states. Gangs operating from the surrounding forests have repeatedly attacked travellers, farmers and security patrols there.
The same area was the scene of a strikingly similar ambush in October 2025, when attackers killed five police officers and three CPG members on a patrol near Gidan-Giye. In August 2024, nine CPG guards were killed at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Tsafe town. Each attack also left the gangs with more weapons.
Zamfara's government created the Community Protection Guard in 2024 to give the state its own force to work with the police and army against the bandits. Its members are often lightly armed and poorly protected, and they have taken heavy losses.
Why Zamfara is so hard to secure
The violence in Zamfara grew out of disputes between farmers and herders over land and water, but it has turned into a criminal economy built on kidnapping for ransom, cattle rustling and illegal gold mining. Gangs number in the thousands, move on motorbikes across state borders, and tax villages for the right to farm. Mass abductions of schoolchildren in the state, including the 2021 kidnapping of nearly 300 girls in Jangebe, drew international attention.
Federal and state governments have tried military offensives, amnesty deals and local vigilante forces. None has ended the attacks for long. Security analysts say ambushes on convoys, like this one, are partly aimed at seizing guns and ammunition.
What to watch
Police are expected to issue a fuller statement on the number of officers missing and to launch an operation in the forests around Tsafe. The state government usually announces compensation for the families of CPG guards killed on duty. With party primaries taking place across the northwest, the safety of election officials and the police officers protecting them will be under close watch in the coming weeks.
