Sources said the bandits blocked the highway to prevent motorists from informing security agents of their operations.
Bandits have reportedly killed at least four persons during an attack on Karazau and Gidan Kaura communities in Gusau local government area of Zamfara State.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening at the two communities which share boundaries with the permanent site of Federal University Gusau.
Sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the bandits had blocked the highway connecting Tsafe, Funtua and Zaria to Kaduna and Abuja, to prevent motorists from informing security agents of their impending operations.
Bashir Isa, a motorist, said he met a long queue of vehicles on the highway, forcing him to stop.
“I was on the road to Gusau this evening when we were told to stop because bandits had blocked the road. We waited for some minutes before some motorists came from the Gusau end and said the bandits had opened the road but they were still in Karazau village,” he said.
Abu Bala, a native of Tsafe but living and working in Gusau, said the bandits had left when he reached the area.
“But they were a lot of people and motorists there. When I asked, they said the bandits were in the village operating,” he said.
Mr Bala said, “Lambar Karazau is between Kwatarkwashi and Federal University Gusau permanent site. There is a police checkpoint 200 metres away. But still, the beasts waged their war on innocent people. The number of people killed is yet to be recorded.”
A source at the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau confirmed that four corpses had been deposited at the hospital from the two villages.
The police spokesperson in the state, Mohammed Shehu, did not respond to calls and SMS sent to him on the development.