Seven police officers have been killed by armed men suspected to be bandits in Zamfara state.

The incident was said to have happened along the Tofa-Magami road in Gusau LGA on Monday evening.

The police officers were said to be on patrol in the area when they were ambushed by the bandits. According to Channels TV, eyewitnesses said the bandits, numbering about 100, engaged the police operatives in a gun duel before killing seven of them.

The police patrol vehicle was also razed.

Awwal Ruwandoruwa, spokesperson of the Yarima Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau, also confirmed that seven bodies of the slain police operatives were brought to the hospital.

“They brought in the corpses of seven Nigeria policemen to our facility this morning. We have already deposited the corpses into the mortuary. They sustained gun injuries,” he said.

As of the time of this report, the state police command could not be reached for comment on the incident.

The development comes days after three security operatives were killed in the state.

On October 28, bandits had killed three security operatives in Shinkafi LGA of the state — including a policeman and two officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) — after engaging them in a gun battle that was said to have lasted for hours.

The Cable