Four members of a joint security team made up of police officers and soldiers were reportedly killed on Friday during a deadly ambush near Daudu town in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, the team was responding to a reported security threat when they came under heavy fire from suspected terrorists.
The attack was said to have occurred around 12pm, following intelligence reports that a group of armed men was advancing toward a nearby community.
Sources cited by the publication revealed that the security team walked into an ambush and engaged the attackers in a fierce gun battle.
Additional troops were later deployed to the area for reinforcement. A search operation recovered the bodies of four fallen security operatives.
A police inspector, identified as Mohammed Yakubu, who was part of the team, has been declared missing. Search efforts are currently ongoing to locate him.
Communities in Benue State have faced repeated attacks in recent weeks, with the latest violence leaving dozens dead in Yelewata, also in Guma LGA, on Saturday.
The ambush marks the third assault on Yelewata in just one week, further deepening concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the region.
Earlier on Monday, Senator Abba Moro, representing Benue South, called on Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, the Chief of Army Staff, to deploy more troops to protect vulnerable communities across Benue.
