Armed bandits killed two police inspectors and four civilians during a violent raid on Tse-Kaseve village in Anyagba Ward, Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State on Monday, February 10, 2026.
The assault began around 4:00 p.m. when scores of gunmen, riding on nearly 100 motorcycles, stormed the community in a coordinated operation. Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the attackers targeted the village market with the apparent intent of carrying out a massacre on residents.
Eleven personnel from the Police Mobile Force (PMF) on special duty in the town, supported by members of the Benue State Civil Protection Guard, engaged the bandits and successfully repelled the initial assault.
Tragically, the gunmen ambushed and killed two officers—Inspector Adams Saidu and Inspector Edem Endimon, both attached to 11 PMF, Calabar—before fleeing with their service rifles. Four civilians also lost their lives in the attack, while another resident was injured and rushed to Katsina-Ala Hospital for treatment.
In the aftermath, troops from the Nigerian Army, along with additional tactical teams, other security agencies, and local vigilante groups, were deployed to the area. Bush combing operations are currently underway to track the fleeing suspects and make arrests.
The incident highlights the persistent and worsening insecurity in parts of Benue State and other northern regions of Nigeria.
Related Violence in Taraba State
On the same day and into Tuesday night, fresh attacks erupted in Taraba State as armed terrorists targeted Tiv communities in Takum Local Government Area. Residents reported ongoing killings, with at least six corpses recovered so far and dozens feared dead.
A distressed resident told SaharaReporters: “Killings are ongoing now in the Tiv community in Takum LGA. It is a serious killing. Dozens of people died and about six corpses have been recovered as I speak to you.”
Another source accused the state government of indifference, describing the violence as targeted and deliberate: “People are mounting at Takum Local Government. The governor doesn’t care. It’s targeted genocide. Only the media can help these people.”
Photographs obtained by SaharaReporters showed lifeless victims, underscoring the severity of the attacks sweeping through the area.
The violence follows a pattern of sustained assaults on Tiv Christian settlements in Chanchanji district of Takum LGA. Residents have repeatedly accused the Taraba State Government and security agencies of failing to protect them despite numerous distress calls and warnings.
Community leaders, including Rev. Dr. Amb. Micah Philip Dopah of the Northern Christians Religious Leaders Assembly (NOCRELA), have lamented the lack of government response: “The issue has been on for long. But government is not doing anything. People are being killed daily without any help. We have written several pleas to the government but no response.”
NOCRELA has described the attacks—attributed to suspected Fulani militia—as coordinated and targeted, reporting that at least 102 people were killed within 33 days in multiple raids on Tiv settlements. Survivors have been displaced, with homes, farmlands, and churches destroyed or occupied.
The twin incidents in Benue and Taraba reflect the broader security challenges facing Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where farmer-herder clashes, banditry, and militia violence continue to claim lives and displace communities.
