Residents of Rafin Tambari, near Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP) in Bauchi, successfully thwarted a robbery attack on Tuesday, killing two of the assailants.
The fleeing gunmen reportedly met their match as the Bauchi community disarmed them and fought back during the attempted robbery.
A resident from the Bauchi areawho witnessed the incident toid that the robbers met their downfall while attempting to rob a Point-of-Sale, POS, operator around 7:30 pm.
According to him, “We were at the mosque for Isha’i evening prayers when we heard people shouting ‘robbers, robbers’. We rushed out. We saw people running as the armed men fired sporadically into the air.”
Usman, one of the residents at the scene, narrated further: “The residents mobilised quickly and caught one of the robbers, who was beaten to death by the mob. Another was mistakenly shot in the leg by his fleeing colleagues, who thought he was a resident.”
It was gathered that the injured suspect was then attacked by the crowd before police personnel arrived to rescue him. He was rushed to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, ATBUTH, Bauchi, in a coma.
Another resident said the robbery was the first of its kind in the area, given the active neighbourhood security arrangement. He commended the prompt police response, noting that it reflected the alertness of the Bauchi State Police Command, which had been lacking in previous years.
Meanwhile, the State Police Command confirmed the armed robbery attack at Rafin Tambari, a settlement along Bauchi-Jos Road, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
Confirming the incident, the Command spokesperson, CSP Mohammed Ahmed Wakil, said in a telephone conversation : “A distress call was received from a good Samaritan on November 18, 2025, around 8:00 pm. It reported an armed robbery at a POS shop owned by Yahaya Isiaka Adams, 33, of Rafin Tambari.”
He added that one Aminu Mohammed Usman, 38, of the same address, was shot in the right leg. Acting on the report, the Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, directed officers from B Division, GRA, to the scene, where the victim was evacuated to ATBUTH for treatment.
The police spokesperson disclosed: “The robbers made away with N570,000 but abandoned N275,000 while fleeing. Two of the suspects were attacked by a mob; one was confirmed dead by doctors, while the other is in coma at ATBUTH.”
“One Peugeot 206, black in colour, belonging to the robbers, registration number KUJ 604DF, chassis number UF82GNF8OG, was recovered. Three empty 6.32mm shells, a mobile phone, a knife, a small bag containing a pistol, and a baton were also recovered at the scene.”
CSP Wakil further said: “The Commissioner of Police has instructed officers in GRA Division to intensify efforts to apprehend the remaining accomplices involved in the robbery.”
Traditional leaders in Rafin Tambari, however, appealed to the government to provide the local vigilante group with the necessary resources to prevent further attacks by armed criminals following the attack on a POS vendor and a provision shop in the community.
The village head, Malam Musa, said the vigilante group urgently needs mobility and better equipment to respond promptly to such incidents. He added that the attack exposed the vulnerability of poorly equipped vigilantes, as the suspects arrived armed and opened fire to intimidate residents.
Another community leader, Malam Muhammadu Mamman, also called on the government to intervene and strengthen security in the area.
According to the POS vendor, Yahaya Isiaka, the suspects stormed his shop and demanded money. After collecting N100,000, one of them ordered him out, ransacked the shop, and took all remaining cash and his phone. He said the robbers fired shots when residents shouted for help, hitting Al’amin Muhammad Usman before fleeing.
Community members in Bauchi pursued them, overpowering one suspect, who was later beaten to death, while another fleeing suspect dropped the stolen cash and phone as he ran.
Also briefing the Commandant of the Rafin Tambari Vigilante Group, Musa Nasiru, explained that the suspects arrived in a black Peugeot 206 and parked by the roadside. By the time vigilantes reached the scene, residents had already subdued one of the attackers.
He added that Bauchi police were promptly notified and evacuated both the corpse and the injured suspect, along with the vehicle used in the operation.
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