Brussels 17.10.2025 In Nigeria gunmen ambushed a security personnel in northwestern Zamfara state and killed at least eight people, the state’s governor said.The attack took place Thursday October 16 on the Gusau-Funtua road in Zamfara state’s Tsafe area, and killed five police officers and three members of a local paramilitary group that works with the police, Gov. Dauda Lawal said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Nigeria: Gunmen ambushed security forces in Zamfara State, killing 8, including 5 police officers and 3 civil defense members. pic.twitter.com/eSL5s02kO1

— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 17, 2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killings. Such attacks are common in Nigeria’s northern region, where local herders and farmers often clash over limited access to land and water. The farmers accuse the herders, mostly of Fulani origin, of grazing their livestock on their farms and destroying their produce.

Why is #Nigeria the most dangerous country in Africa for local officials?

ACLED records over 130 attacks in 2024 alone. Just last 16 May, gunmen shot and injured the Secretary of Birnin Magaji LGA in Zamfara —one of many incidents driven by banditry & political tensions. pic.twitter.com/0K9jcAj3JM

— ACLED (@ACLEDINFO) June 16, 2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js In recent months, there has been an increase in attacks by armed groups who kidnap residents for ransom in northwest Nigeria, and particularly in Zamfara state. “We pray to God to bring an end to this security problem in Zamfara state and Nigeria,” Lawal said on Facebook.

This afternoon, bandits ambushed troops along Gusau–Tsafe way in Zamfara State. 8 security operatives, including ZCPG officers, were killed in the attack.
A stark reminder that bandit attacks on highways remains a grave threat to security & mobility in our region.@daudalawal_ pic.twitter.com/8ckt7nznSM

— Bakatsine (@DanKatsina50) October 16, 2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Buhari Morki, a resident of Gusau, told The Associated Press that the gunmen waited in the bushes along the road where law enforcement officials usually patrol.

This afternoon, bandits ambushed troops along Gusau–Tsafe way in Zamfara State. 8 security operatives, including ZCPG officers, were killed in the attack.
A stark reminder that bandit attacks on highways remains a grave threat to security & mobility in our region.@daudalawal_ pic.twitter.com/8ckt7nznSM

— Bakatsine (@DanKatsina50) October 16, 2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js “The bandits were moving to a community in the area when they saw the patrol,” Moriki said. Nigeria is also battling to contain Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast, where some 35,000 civilians have been killed and more than 2 million displaced, according to the United Nations.