Army troops repel gunmen in Benue's Guma, recover two AK-47 rifles
- Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke fought off armed men who crossed from Nasarawa into Guma LGA, Benue State.
- The army said no soldier was hurt and two AK-47 rifles, four empty magazines and eight calves were recovered.
- The force commander urged residents to keep reporting suspicious movements to security agencies.
Army troops under Operation Whirl Stroke say they have repelled a group of armed men in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State and recovered weapons from the scene.
The operation, according to the military, took place on 26 October 2026. It followed intelligence that some criminal elements posing as herders had crossed from Nasarawa State into Guma LGA.
Lieutenant Ahmad Zubairu, acting media information officer of the joint task force, said in a statement issued on Tuesday in Makurdi that the troops came under gunfire on reaching the location.
He said the soldiers responded and forced the assailants to flee, and that no soldier was hurt.
What the troops found
A search of the area afterwards, Zubairu said, led to the recovery of two AK-47 rifles, four empty AK-47 magazines, eight calves, three mobile phones, a National Identification Number document bearing the name Umar Yusuf, and ₦20 in cash.
The Force Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, Major General Moses Kolo Gara, praised the troops for their vigilance and quick response, and asked them to work more closely with local communities.
He also thanked members of the public for passing on what he called credible and actionable intelligence, and urged residents to keep reporting suspicious movements.
Outlets described the armed group differently: Punch and Daily Post called them suspected armed herders, while Vanguard's headline referred to them as terrorists. The military's statement itself described them as criminal elements posing as herders. No group has claimed responsibility, and no arrests were announced.
For residents of Guma and nearby communities, the report points to the kind of intelligence-sharing the army says it relies on. Guma sits close to the Nasarawa State boundary, and the military says armed men have been crossing that line.
What happens next
The army says it will keep up intelligence-led patrols across its joint operations area and wants residents to report strange movements promptly. It did not say whether anyone was arrested or whether the recovered items have been linked to any suspect.