No fewer than four security men have reportedly been killed by suspected armed herdsmen at the Udei community in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to a source who requested anonymity because he did not have permission to communicate with the media about the incident, it occurred on Tuesday evening while a team of joint security operatives was patrolling the area.
The Buffalo Squad of Operation Zenda was a joint security force made up of troops from the Mobile Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Police Counter-Terrorism Unit, and the Benue State Civil Protection Guards.
The crew was reported to have been attacked while on normal patrol along the Daudu-Yelewata road.
A security man who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “Members of the team were patrolling the Daudu-Yelewata area on Tuesday evening when they got to Udei and spotted a smoke billowing from the community about two kilometres from the express road.
“They immediately drove into the bush to ascertain the reason for the fire. And on getting close to the community, they ran into an ambush by armed herdsmen in large numbers on motorbikes who were busy burning down the village.
“In the ensuing gunfight, three of the security personnel were killed; one of them was, however, declared missing, and when a call was put to his mobile phone later, somebody who spoke in a strange language picked up the call. So, it was obvious that they killed him.”
According to reports, two mobile police officers and two civil defence officials were killed during the exchange of fire.
The source claimed that later on Wednesday, security officers reinforced and moved to ungoverned areas around the environment, declaring a total attack to sweep away the armed men.
When reached on Thursday, Michael Ejelikwu, the state Police Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, confirmed the death of two people in the incident.
He said, “Yes, I can sadly and regrettably confirm the killing of two of our personnel, ASCI Simon Adoli and ASCI Ernest Ayilla, who both paid the supreme price, defending their fatherland during a joint security team clearout operation at Udei, Guma LGA, on July 8, 2025, at about 4:38 pm.
“Let me state unequivocally that the corps is not deterred by these coordinated and sustained attacks by these marauding killer herdsmen and their collaborators. The NSCDC, in synergy with other security agencies, will continue to defend the territorial integrity of the Nigerian nation.”
However, when approached, DSP Udeme Edet, the state command’s Police Public Relations Officer, asked some time to answer to our correspondent’s questions on the attack.
However, at the time of filing this report, she had yet to speak on the attack by the armed herdsmen.
