Suspected armed Fulani herdsmen launched an attack on a joint security patrol team in Benue State on Monday, leaving some operatives injured and three others unaccounted for.
Details from the Benue State Police Command revealed that the ambush occurred at approximately 2:19 p.m, along the Daudu–Uikohol Expressway, situated in the Guma Local Government Area.
The security team, made up of personnel 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, were engaged in a routine mission when they noticed smoke rising from huts roughly two kilometres off the expressway.
As they moved closer to investigate, the officers walked into an ambush set by suspected herdsmen, believed to be responsible for torching homes in the area.
During the exchange, Police Inspector, Ochepo Benjamin (AP/No. 266789) and an NSCDC operative sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi, where they remain under medical care.
However, Inspector Muhammed Abdullahi (AP/No. 196271) and two NSCDC officers were declared missing following the confrontation.
Security authorities have since launched a coordinated manhunt in a bid to recover the missing personnel.
