March 6, 2023

The Zamfara Police command on Sunday confirmed the killing of SP Kazeem Raheem, the Maru Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara.

Also slain was Rabi’u Umar, a Police Inspector attached to the division.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Muhammad Shehu, confirmed the killings in a statement he issued on Sunday in Gusau.

“On 5th March, 2023 at about 0200hrs, bandits in large numbers, armed with sophisticated weapons attacked Maru Divisional Police Headquarters in Maru LGA with intent to destabilise the security architecture of the town in order to easily attack and abduct members of the community.

“However, the DPO and his team gallantly put up a strong resistance to repel the attackers.

“Unfortunately, the DPO and the above named inspector lost their lives while protecting the public”, the PPRO said in the statement.

The Commissioner of Police, Zamfara Command, Mr Kolo Yusuf, reassured the residents of the command’s continuous commitment to protecting lives and property.

The police boss, according to the statement, deployed reinforcement to pursue the fleeing hoodlums with a view to to apprehending and prosecuting them.

Shehu said the command’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), DCP Iliyasu Kwarbai, led another police tactical team to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment and confidence building patrol.