The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has declared that the Nigeria Police Force will intensify its offensive against banditry and violent crime across the country, affirming that the supreme sacrifice of its personnel will not be in vain.
​The declaration came after a deadly gun battle in Sakaba Local Government Area of Kebbi State, which claimed the lives of 10 operatives attached to the Special Intervention Squad (SIS).
​Speaking on Monday, August 24, 2026, during a solemn ceremony held at the Force Headquarters in Abuja to honor the fallen officers, IGP Disu assured Nigerians and the families of the deceased that the police force remains undeterred.
​”These gallant officers died doing what they swore an oath to do: to serve, to protect, and to defend lives and properties,” IGP Disu stated. “We shall not be intimidated. We shall not relent. And we shall not allow the sacrifice of our fallen heroes to be in vain.”
​The clash occurred at approximately 9:25 a.m. on Monday, August 10, 2026, along the Rafin Makuku axis in Sakaba LGA. Police operatives intercepted a heavily armed, large convoy of suspected bandits who were reportedly advancing along a major transit corridor between Zamfara and Kebbi states.
​In a statement released from the Force Headquarters, Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, detailed that the SIS personnel engaged the criminal elements in a fierce firefight. During the encounter, police operatives neutralized at least 17 bandits and destroyed four operational motorcycles belonging to the attackers.
However, 10 police officers and two civilians lost their lives in the engagement, while two other officers sustained serious gunshots injuries and are currently receiving treatment.
​The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Special Intervention Squad, alongside regional field commanders, confirmed that tactical reinforcements and air support were swiftly deployed to stabilize the corridor. Subsequent sweeping operations in the surrounding forests led to the recovery of additional bodies of neutralized bandits who fled the scene with fatal injuries.
​Directing his message to the families of the fallen officers present at the Force Headquarters, IGP Disu pledged full institutional, emotional, and financial support, assuring them that the police force would stand by them throughout their grief.
​The Police High Command confirmed that security operations have been significantly scaled up across Kebbi, Zamfara, and surrounding North-West corridors to track down remaining elements of the bandit network.
