Police Intercept Highway Ambush, Rescue Nine Abducted Passengers in Katsina

Operatives from the Katsina State Police Command successfully disrupted a highway kidnapping attempt, rescuing nine passengers after engaging armed bandits in a gun duel along the Katsina–Kankara highway.

The incident occurred when suspected bandits established a roadblock on the highway at Tashar Kanya Village, located within the Kankara Local Government Area. The armed group intercepted a red Volkswagen Golf III commercial transit vehicle en route from Dandume to Katsina, which was carrying 11 passengers.

Upon receiving the distress call, the Divisional Police Officer for Kankara mobilized a combined tactical team, including the command’s Violent Crime Rescue Unit (VCRU), and deployed them to the ambush site.

According to an official statement released by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq, the arriving operatives engaged the bandits in a fierce firefight. Confronted by superior firepower and coordinated tactical maneuvers, the attackers abandoned the ambush and retreated into the surrounding bush.

During a subsequent search of the immediate area, police operatives safely located and rescued nine of the intercepted passengers unharmed.

However, authorities confirmed that two individuals the driver, identified as Aliyu (popularly known as “Maitakabari”), and a passenger named Buhari Kabir remain missing. Specialized search and rescue teams have been deployed to comb the terrain, locate the remaining victims, and track down the fleeing suspects.

The Katsina State Commissioner of Police, CP Ali Umar Fage, commended the operational team for their rapid response and reiterated that the command remains fully committed to aggressive patrols and tactical deployments to secure major transit routes across the state.