THE Zamfara State Community Protection Guards (CPG), popularly known as Askarawan Zamfara, have intercepted 98 landmines allegedly being transported to bandits in Maru Local Government Area of the state.
News Point Nigeria reports that the CPG Commandant, DIG Muhammad Shehu Daligent (rtd), disclosed this while parading the suspects in Gusau, the state capital. He explained that the explosives were intercepted following credible intelligence on a vehicle conveying the dangerous items from Gusau to Bindin village.
According to him, “it is a well-known fact that bandits have taken over Bindin village, and anyone there is either a bandit or collaborator.”
Daligent further alleged that illegal miners and gold traders were playing a significant role in aiding banditry in the area. “The bandits enslave villagers to mine gold and send people to sell it for them,” he stated.
The commandant said eight suspects were arrested in connection with the incident, including a driver, a supplier, and seven alleged gold buyers, while one suspect remains at large.
Items recovered during the operation include 98 landmines, detonators, motorcycles, cash amounting to over ₦13.3 million, as well as cigarettes and marijuana.
He stressed that “banditry has the support of both big and small actors in society,” warning that the intercepted explosives could have caused devastating casualties if they had reached their intended destination.
“If these quantities reach them, how many lives will they kill?” he queried.
Daligent added that the suspects would be handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution, assuring that the CPG would sustain its operations against bandits and their collaborators across the state.
