Four security men have died in Benue herders security killings during an ambush in Udei, Guma LGA, as joint forces patrol attacked while defending civilians

Four security operatives have been confirmed dead following an attack by suspected armed herders in Udei, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

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The tragic incident occurred on Tuesday evening when the joint task force, known as the Buffalo Squad of Operation Zenda, was patrolling the Daudu-Yelewata axis.

According to a security source who asked not to be named, the team spotted smoke rising from a village roughly two kilometres off the expressway.

“They drove into the bush to check the situation,” the source said. “As they approached, they were ambushed by heavily armed herders on motorbikes who were already setting fire to the village.”

In the ensuing gunfight, three personnel were killed on the spot. A fourth operative went missing, and when his phone was later dialled, someone speaking an unfamiliar language answered—raising fears that he too was killed.

Among the casualties were two mobile police officers and two members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The attack targeted the Buffalo Squad, which includes officers from the Mobile Police Force, NSCDC, the Counter-Terrorism Unit, and the Benue State Civil Protection Guards.

The NSCDC’s spokesperson, Michael Ejelikwu, confirmed the deaths of two of their officers, ASCI Simon Adoli and ASCI Ernest Ayilla.

“They paid the supreme price defending their fatherland,” he said. “Let me state unequivocally that the Corps is not deterred by these coordinated attacks by marauding killer herdsmen. We remain committed to our duty.”

On Wednesday, security personnel launched a reinforcement operation in surrounding ungoverned areas, with a full-scale offensive against the attackers.