Residents of Rafin Tambari, behind Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, ATAP, Bauchi, successfully repelled robbery attacks on Tuesday, killing two suspects in the process.
The fleeing gunmen were reportedly unlucky as residents disarmed them and counterattacked during the attacks.
A resident who witnessed the incident told Newslodge that the robbers met their undoing while trying to rob a point-of-sale (POS) operator around 7:30 p.m.
According to him, “We were at the mosque for the evening Isha’i prayers when we heard people shouting ‘thieves, thieves’. We ran away. We saw people running as the gunmen shot sporadically into the air.”
Usman, one of the residents at the scene, further narrated: “The residents quickly mobilized 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.”
Newslodge reported that the injured suspect was attacked by the crowd before police personnel arrived to rescue him. He was rushed to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital, ATBUTH, Bauchi, in a coma.
Another resident said the robbery was the first of its kind in the area, given the neighborhood’s active security system. He praised the quick response of the police, 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 in Rafin Tambari, a settlement along Bauchi-Jos Road, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
Confirming the incident, Spokesperson of the Command, CSP Mohammed Ahmed Wakil, said in a telephone conversation with Newslodge: “A distress call was received from a good Samaritan on November 18, 2025, at around 8:00 pm. He reported an armed robbery at a POS store 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 of B Division, GRA, to the scene, where the victim was evacuated to ATBUTH for treatment.
The police spokesperson revealed: “The robbers took N570,000 but abandoned N275,000 as they fled. Two of the suspects were attacked by a mob; doctors confirmed one dead while the other is in a coma at ATBUTH.”
“A black Peugeot 206, property of the robbers, registration KUJ 604DF, chassis number UF82GNF8OG, was recovered at the scene. Three empty 6.32 mm casings, 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 the officers of GRA Division to intensify efforts to apprehend the remaining accomplices involved in the robbery.”
However, traditional leaders in Rafin Tambari called on the government to provide the local vigilante group with the necessary resources to prevent further attacks by armed criminals following the attack on a point of sale vendor and a provision shop in the community.
Village head Malam Musa said the self-defense group urgently needs mobility and better equipment to respond promptly to such incidents. He added that the attack exposed the vulnerability of ill-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 salesperson at the outlet, Yahaya Isiaka, the suspects broke into his store and demanded money. After collecting N100,000, one of them ordered him out, ransacked the shop and took all the remaining money and his phone. He said the robbers fired when residents screamed for help, hitting Al’amin Muhammad Usman before fleeing.
Community members chased them and overpowered one suspect, who was then beaten to death, while another fleeing suspect dropped the stolen cash and phone as he ran.
Also informing Newslodge, Rafin Tambari Vigilance Group Commander, Musa Nasiru, explained that the suspects arrived in a black Peugeot 206 and parked on the side of the road. When the security guards arrived at the scene, the residents had already subdued one of the attackers.
He added that police were notified immediately and evacuated both the body and the injured suspect, along with the vehicle used in the operation.