Seventeen bandits and 10 police officers were killed on Monday when security personnel engaged a large group of armed men moving from Zamfara State into Kebbi State.
Two civilians were also killed in the encounter around the Rafin Makuku axis of Sakaba Local Government Area of Kebbi State, the police said.
The bandits, estimated by residents to number about 240 and travelling on more than 200 motorcycles, reportedly moved from the Sangeko Gap area of Dansadau District in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
A resident of Makuku, Malam Musa Sani, said the bandits moved in three formations and camped in a forest between Kakihum and Makuku, where they spent the night before proceeding towards Maburya on Monday morning.
He said the bandits encountered a mobile police checkpoint while attempting to enter the community and overpowered the personnel.
“The bandits killed 10 mobile policemen and two civilians and carted away their rifles,” he alleged.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Kebbi State Police Command, DSP Bashir Usman, said 17 suspected bandits had so far been assessed to have been neutralised.
“This morning, our men intercepted and engaged a heavily armed group of suspected bandits moving between Zamfara and Kebbi States along the Rafin Makuku axis of Sakaba Local Government Area,” he said.
According to him, four motorcycles belonging to the attackers were also burnt during the encounter, adding that the casualty figure remained subject to further verification.
“Tragically, we lost 10 gallant police personnel in the engagement, while two others sustained injuries and are receiving medical attention. Two civilians also lost their lives during the encounter,” he said.
Usman described the slain personnel as gallant officers who fought with courage and professionalism in the line of duty.
He added that the immediate priority of the command was to support the affected families, care for the wounded and sustain follow-up operations against fleeing elements.
Border Corridors Fuel Regional Instability
The fatal engagement along the Kebbi-Zamfara border underscores a troubling evolution in the logistics of non-state armed networks in northwest Nigeria.
These groups leverage porous administrative boundaries to evade state security apparatuses, launching raids in one jurisdiction before retreating into remote forested zones in another.
The movement of over 200 motorcycles in structured formations points to sophisticated operational planning. It also reveals significant intelligence gaps along key transit routes.
For rural communities in Sakaba, these cross-border movements severely disrupt agricultural activity and local markets, deepening rural economic isolation.
