At least seven passengers were killed and several others injured on Thursday evening when suspected bandits opened fire on a commercial vehicle along the Tsafe-Funtua Road in Zamfara state.

The attack occurred around 7pm, shortly before the road was scheduled to close for the day – a security measure recently implemented by the Zamfara State Government to curb recurring assaults on motorists.

Eyewitnesses told Weekend Trust that the bandits, who were on motorcycles, were crossing the road when they encountered an oncoming commercial bus and opened fire.

“They were riding across the road when they spotted the bus and immediately began shooting. The vehicle was carrying women and children. Seven people, including some children, were killed on the spot,” one source revealed.

Another source confirmed that passengers from two other vehicles were abducted during the ambush.

A local leader in Tsafe Local Government Area, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, corroborated the incident, adding that the bus veered off the road, crashed into the bush and overturned as a result of the attack.

“We were informed that the driver may have been rushing to reach Gusau before the road closure. Perhaps if he had waited until morning in Funtua, this could have been avoided,” the community leader said.

He added that several injured passengers were taken to Tsafe General Hospital for treatment.

Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the Zamfara State police command, DSP Yazid Abubakar, were unsuccessful as calls to his phone went unanswered at the time of filing this report. (Weekend Trust, but headline rejigged)