By Winnie Onu, Makurdi
Suspected armed herders in an ambush against a joint security patrol team have killed two operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and leaving three other officers missing.
Locals said that the attack, which occurred at Udei community in Guma Local Government Area around 4:38pm on Tuesday indicated the growing vulnerability of even heavily armed and multi-agency security units operating in volatile parts of the state.
Security sources revealed that the patrol team comprising personnel from the Police Mobile Force (13 PMF, 58 PMF), State Intelligence Services (SIS), Operation Zenda, Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU), NSCDC, Benue State Civil Protection Guards, and local vigilantes was responding to distress calls over burning houses when they encountered intense gunfire near Ukohol, along the Makurdi–Lafia highway.
The team was reportedly advancing towards Udei, where suspected herders were setting homes ablaze, when they were ambushed.
Police Inspector Ochepo Benjamin and an unnamed NSCDC officer sustained gunshot wounds and are currently receiving treatment at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi.
However, Police Inspector Muhammed Abdullahi and two other NSCDC personnel were declared missing after the attack.
Despite the swift deployment of military reinforcements, a coordinated search to locate the missing officers remains ongoing.
The NSCDC spokesperson, Michael Ejelikwu, confirmed the fatalities and identified the slain officers as Adoli Simon (ASCI) and Ernest Tyolumun Ayilla (ASCI).
He described the ambush as part of a sustained and coordinated assault by “marauding killer herdsmen and their collaborators” but assured that the NSCDC, in concert with other security agencies, remains committed to defending Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Benue, DSP Udeme Edet, told journalists she had no official details on the incident as of press time.
