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…Dozens Missing in Fulani, Terrorist-Bandit Ambush in Benue State
By Mike Odeh James and Olikita Ekani
At least 16 Nigerian security officers were killed on Friday, September 19, 2025, after Fulani terrorists supported by hired local mercenaries ambushed a joint security patrol in Katsina-Ala County, Benue State.
The assault, which raged for more than two hours, left many officers missing and others reportedly abducted.
The patrol team—about 100 personnel from Operation Anyam Nyor, Operation Zenda, the Special Intervention Squad (SIS), and the Benue State Civil Protection Guards—was led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Danlami Usman, widely known as Dan Zuru.
The Attack
The officers were conducting a clearance mission in Benue’s eastern border with the neighboring state in the Agu Center area of Mbatula/Mberev Ward, near Peva and Chanchangi settlements. Scores of militia armed with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and heavy weapons struck. The attackers—Fulani ethnic militias backed by so-called Tiv bandits —overwhelmed the patrol with superior firepower.
Several patrol trucks were burned, motorcycles were stolen, and the body of Commander Dan Zuru was later recovered. One survivor told TruthNigeria on condition of anonymity:
“We came under an unexpected attack by terrorists on Friday. I narrowly escaped death, but many of my colleagues, including our commander, didn’t make it. We lost more than 20 men. Sixteen bodies have been recovered so far. Please keep praying for us.”
According to him, the corpses were deposited at the NKST Hospital mortuary in Zaki-Biam, Ukum County.
Local Officials Confirm Attack
Katsina-Ala County Chairman Justine Shaku confirmed the ambush, calling it a major setback.
“The ambush was carried out by Fulani militias, local bandits, and even hired fighters from Taraba. We have recovered seven bodies so far, but more than 20 operatives were killed. Two Hilux vehicles were burned, and motorcycles stolen,” Shaku said.
He identified known bandit leaders of the Tiv tribe, (the largest tribe in Benue State)— the so-called Konyo, Anyogo, Matthew Zegebra, Gulenen Ashaver, and “Full Fire”—as among those who joined the attack.
“The political thugs who took money to kill state police are traitors to the Tiv people,” said Former Benue resident Franc Utoo, in a phone call from his office in Oklahoma. In Benue State we have seen an increase of armed gangs for 15 years ago,” Utoo told TruthNigeria. “I was a government official in the administration of former governor Samuel Ortom, and during my time there we admitted that we have a problem with criminal gangs hiring themselves out to political parties at election time,” he said.
“These gangsters have come from Christian or animist families, but their motivation for using their guns against fellow citizens has nothing to do with ideology,” Utoo added. “About 10 years ago, some of these gangs started to align with Fulani Islamist terrorists simply for money,” according to Utoo.
Bishop Isaac Dugu, the Archbishop of Katsina-Ala Catholic Diocese, partially succeeded in separating the local bandits from their Fulani gang employers last November by hosting repentance services for bandit leaders and by making peace agreements with them. However, when monetary payments from state officials failed to materialize, the Tiv bandits re-armed themselves and re-joined the terrorist cleansing operations of the Fulani militias, according to local sources asking for anonymity.
Youth Leader Blames Military
Katsina-Ala youth leader Daniel Mashin blames the military for slow response.
“There was no rainfall and the weather was clear, yet there was no air support for the security outfit. There was no downpour anywhere in Benue. The military always blames weather,” Mashin told TruthNigeria.
“The attackers came from Taraba, Nasarawa, Kogi, and Benue. Their mission was clear—to kill Dan Zuru. Sadly, they succeeded,” he said.
According to Mashin, Dan Zuru who commands the security outfit in Benue was so effective in curbing the activities of the terrorists that they (terrorists wanted him dead.)
Mashin also criticized Governor Hyacinth Alia for remaining silent more than 48 hours after the massacre, accusing him of downplaying what he called “ethnic and religious cleansing” in Benue.
Retired military officer Major Adah Adaji explained that Operation Anyam Nyor and Operation Zenda are federally funded police units, despite their Tiv names. The Benue State Civil Protection Guards, however, are state-controlled and paid. Also in the fight were local community protection guards, who get paid by local councils, chiefs, or community donations.
The Sankera region, which is the prize of contention between jihadist terrorist and the state authorities includes the counties of Katsina-Ala, Ukum, and Logo counties. The region is fertile farmland known for yam, rice, beans, and potatoes. It has also become a haven both for Tiv guns-for-hire and Fulani terrorists.
Community leader Christopher Ahangba Ayati estimated that Tiv bandit-terrorists alone number more than 3,000 fighters, controlling vast forests across Ukum, Logo, and Katsina-Ala counties (called Local Government Areas in Nigeria).
Fulani Militias and the Wider Threat
Fulani ethnic militias have killed more than 55,000 Nigerians over the past four years, cccording to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA). The Fulani, a cattle-herding people spread across West Africa, are linked to regional jihadist conflicts and local terror campaigns.
In Benue State, Nigeria’s complex civil conflict has been made the more intractable by the rise of Tiv banditry. Whereas thousands of Fulani militia fighters operate across borders as mobile networks in Nasarawa and Taraba States, Tiv groups remain localized but are equally destructive—especially in the Sankera region, where both forces combine to overwhelm the Nigerian army and federal police.
Mike Odeh James and Olikita Ekani are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria.
