Three Missing After Suspected Herdsmen Ambush Security Team in Benue

Three officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been declared missing following a suspected herdsmen ambush on a joint security patrol team in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. The attack occurred on Monday at about 2:19 p.m. along the Daudu–Uikohol Expressway, according to the Police Public Relations Officer for the Benue State Command, DSP Edet Edeme.

The team, comprising personnel from the Police Mobile Force (13 PMF, 58 PMF), State Intelligence Services, Operation Zenda, Counter-Terrorism Unit, NSCDC, Benue State Civil Protection Guards, and local vigilantes, was on a routine patrol when they observed plumes of smoke from burning huts about two kilometres off the Makurdi–Lafia federal highway. As the team moved in to investigate, they were ambushed by gunmen believed to be armed herdsmen.

During the assault, Police Inspector Ochepo Benjamin and an NSCDC officer sustained gunshot injuries. Both were evacuated to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi and are currently receiving treatment. However, another police officer, Inspector Muhammed Abdullahi, along with two NSCDC personnel, went missing during the exchange of gunfire.

Security forces have since launched a coordinated search operation to locate the missing officers. Monday’s incident is the latest in a string of violent attacks in the region widely attributed to suspected herdsmen, particularly within the volatile Guma axis.