February 13, 2026 l Dalena Reporters
A Divisional Police Officer (DPO), CSP Muhammad Sani Sagir, has been killed in a deadly ambush by suspected terrorists during an operation in a forested area of Katsina State, Nigeria, further underscoring the growing insecurity in the country’s northwest. The incident occurred as security personnel pursued suspects linked to cattle rustling and banditry in the region.
According to multiple reports, the police team, led by CSP Sagir, responded to a distress call in Magaji community, Majen-Gobir ward of Rimi Local Government Area, on Friday morning. Their mission was to trace suspects who had allegedly stolen livestock and fled into nearby forest territory.
As the team tracked the rustlers into the forest, they were ambushed by heavily armed terrorists or bandits, who opened fire from concealed positions. CSP Sagir was reportedly struck during the ensuing gunfight and later succumbed to his injuries, dying at the scene. Three others including other police personnel and a civilian woman were also wounded in the attack and rushed to a local hospital for medical attention.
Eyewitness accounts and local security sources describe the assailants as heavily armed fighters capable of mounting complex ambushes in densely forested terrain a hallmark of bandit and terrorist networks operating in northwest Nigeria. In some versions of the developing story, a suspected bandit was killed in the exchange of fire, though many attackers reportedly fled with the stolen cattle.
This latest attack is part of a wider pattern of violent assaults on security personnel and civilians in Katsina and neighbouring states, where forest hideouts have become strongholds for armed groups engaged in cattle rustling, kidnapping, and other criminal activities. Such groups often strike with little warning and exploit limited security coverage in rural areas, making operations to recover stolen property particularly dangerous.
Local security analysts say the ambush reflects persistent challenges for Nigerian forces operating in hostile terrain with evolving insurgent tactics. Calls for improved intelligence gathering, better equipment, and more effective cooperation between security agencies and local communities have intensified in the wake of the attack.
As investigations continue, the police command in Katsina has reportedly launched a manhunt to apprehend the attackers, with heightened patrols and strategic deployments across forest corridors where such groups frequently operate.
The death of CSP Sagir marks yet another grave loss for Nigerian security forces battling escalating violence across the northwest a crisis that continues to strain state resources and test the government’s capacity to protect citizens and law enforcement officers alike.