In a fresh wave of bloodshed gripping Benue State, at least three security operatives have been declared missing while others sustained injuries after a deadly ambush by suspected armed herdsmen on a joint patrol team in Guma Local Government Area.
The attack occurred at about 2:19 p.m. on Monday along the volatile Daudu–Uikohol Expressway, a known hotspot in the ongoing crisis between invading herdsmen and local communities.
According to a police situation report, the joint security patrol team—which included operatives from the Police Mobile Force (13 PMF and 58 PMF), State Intelligence Services (SIS), Operation Zenda, Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Benue State Civil Protection Guards, and local vigilantes—was on a routine route operation when they noticed smoke billowing from burning settlements roughly two kilometres off the expressway.
As the team advanced to investigate the source of the fire, they were met with a hail of bullets from the suspected herdsmen who had allegedly torched several huts in a premeditated act of terror.
In the ensuing gun battle, a police inspector and an NSCDC officer sustained gunshot wounds and were swiftly evacuated to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi, where they are currently receiving treatment.
Tragically, three officers—one from the Police Force and two from the NSCDC—went missing during the ambush. As of the time of filing this report, their whereabouts remain unknown. Security agencies have since launched an intensive search-and-rescue mission to recover the missing personnel and flush out the attackers.
The assault is the latest in a string of brutal attacks that have left many communities in Benue State reeling under the weight of insecurity.
In June, Tor Tiv V, Professor James Ayatse, during a visit by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, issued a chilling warning: the crisis in Benue must not be mischaracterized as a mere farmers-herders or communal conflict.
“We have great concern about the misinformation and misrepresentation of the security crisis in Benue State,” the revered monarch told the President. “Your Excellency, it is not herders-farmers clashes. It is not communal clashes, reprisal attacks, or skirmishes. What we are dealing with here is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits that has been ongoing for decades and worsens every year.”
He cautioned that misleading labels such as “tolerance,” “peace negotiation,” and “coexistence” only embolden the aggressors and delay decisive government action.
“This is not about learning to live with your neighbours—it is about responding to a war that is being waged against our people.”
When contacted regarding the ambush on the patrol team, Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Udeme Edet, said she would provide updates in due course.
“I will get back to you on that,” she told SaharaReporters.
The attack underscores the deteriorating security situation in Benue and reignites concerns over the state’s vulnerability to unchecked armed incursions, particularly as residents and security personnel alike continue to bear the brunt of this deepening crisis.
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