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.

The home-based Super Eagles preparations for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has suffered a hitch following withdrawals and injury involving several invited players.

Five of the invited players are now ineligible to participate in the competition after joining clubs outside the country.

The CHAN is reserved for players who play in their respective domestic leagues.

Reliable defender, Ifeanyi Onyebuchi has been ruled out of the competition due to injury, while young goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt is on duty with the Flying Eagles.

The home Eagles started preparations for the competition in Ikenne on Monday.

28 players are currently training under head coach, Eric Chelle.

Kebbi State Government has ordered urgent repairs to a section of the Birnin Kebbi–Makera–International Road, which was washed away by flooding following a recent downpour.

The damaged portion, considered a key route linking Kebbi to the Republic of Niger, has disrupted transportation and regional trade since the incident earlier this week.

Governor Nasir Idris, who visited the site on Wednesday, directed the Ministry of Works to engage a qualified construction firm to begin immediate rehabilitation. He also requested that a cost estimate be submitted by Thursday for swift approval.

“This road is vital to both Kebbi State and the national economy,” Idris said during the inspection, pledging to release 50 percent of the project funds immediately to accelerate the work.

Commissioner for Works, Abdullahi Umar Faruq Muslim, blamed the road failure on poor drainage infrastructure, noting that the absence of proper culverts allowed rainwater to erode the roadbed.

The governor was accompanied by his deputy, Senator Umar Abubakar Tafida, during the visit.