Udeku, Benue State — Suspected armed herders have killed a soldier and an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) during an ambush in Udeku community, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, security sources and police statements confirmed on Sunday.
Residents fled the area amid escalating attacks on communities and security personnel.
The victims were part of Operation Whirl-Stroke, a joint security task force deployed to enhance stability in the troubled region, which has witnessed repeated attacks by armed groups.
According to eyewitness accounts, the officers had left their post to refill cooking gas at Aga Market when they encountered a roadblock mounted by suspected herders, who opened fire and killed them instantly.
A community leader from the area said youths mobilised after the attack, combed nearby forests, and recovered the charred bodies of the slain operatives, taking them to the mortuary at Jato Aka for preservation.
The Polic Public Relations Officer for Benue State Command, DSP Udeme Edet, confirmed the incident, explaining that no police officer was killed, but that an officer from a sister security agency had lost his life.
He said the ambush occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 10, 2026, in the Maav-ya, Mbakyor council ward of Kwande LGA.
In a separate confirmation, the NSCDC’s Public Relations Officer in Benue State, Michael Ejelikwu, said one of the slain personnel was Corps Cadet Assistant (CCA) Tijani Idris, service number 76691, from the Kaduna State Command, who was seconded to the Operation Whirl-Stroke Joint Taskforce.
Ejelikwu described the killing as unfortunate and extended condolences to the officer’s family.
The attack came against a backdrop of recent violence in the area. Local sources said suspected armed herders had killed five farmers in the same location less than a week earlier, contributing to rising fear and displacement among residents of surrounding communities.
Benue State has faced a prolonged security challenge marked by clashes involving armed herders and farmers, attacks on villages, and assaults on security personnel deployed to restore order. Analysts and community leaders have expressed concern that these incidents may escalate if not met with strengthened coordinated responses from security agencies.
As investigations continue, authorities have yet to issue a detailed operational statement on the ambush, but the killings are expected to focus renewed attention on the vulnerabilities of security deployments in rural axis of Benue State ahead of intensified community protection efforts.
