Three police officers were killed and two others injured Tuesday following an ambush by suspected armed bandits along the Guga–Bakori road in Katsina State.
The attack occurred around 12:44 p.m. when a team of officers on a routine anti-crime patrol came under sporadic gunfire, according to local sources.
A resident of Bakori, Usman Ibrahim, said that three of the officers, all operatives of the Mobile Police (MOPOL) attached to the Guga detachment, died on the spot, while two others were taken to Bakori General Hospital for treatment. He said the patrol vehicle was extensively damaged during the attack.
“Their patrol vehicle was forced off the road and overturned a few metres before Layin ‘Yannehu, about four kilometres south of the Guga–Bakori road, before the attackers opened sustained gunfire on the officers,” Ibrahim said.
The Bakori Divisional Police Officer, SP Adamu Hamza, along with operatives of the Department of State Services, responded swiftly but arrived after the fatal attack.
Confirming the incident, Katsina State Police Public Relations Officer DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu said the officers “responded bravely and engaged the attackers, successfully repelling the assault.” He added that investigations have begun to apprehend the perpetrators.
“On 27th January 2026, at about 1244 hrs, a team of policemen on routine anti-crime patrol along Guga–Bakori were ambushed by some suspected armed hoodlums shooting sporadically. The officers responded bravely, repelling the attack. Unfortunately, three officers paid the supreme price during the encounter, while two officers sustained injuries,” the police statement read.
The Bakori–Kankara axis has long been a hotspot for banditry, with repeated incidents of killings, abductions, and armed attacks, despite a recent peace agreement between local communities and armed groups that had temporarily reduced violence.
The resurgence of attacks has raised concerns over the fragility of the peace process and the commitment of some armed groups to the agreement.
