By Anamati Inyang November 13, 2025
Fresh tension has gripped Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State following reports that personnel of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), the Joint Military Task Force, allegedly opened fire on the Commander of Operation Zenda, a special tactical police unit in the state, CSP Lyam Akegh, and his men during a rescue mission.
The incident reportedly occurred on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, near Tse-Orbiam village, along the Naka-Makurdi Road, where the police team was responding to a distress call over renewed attacks by suspected Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM).
According to multiple eyewitnesses, the Operation Zenda team had embarked on the mission independently after repeated appeals for military support went unanswered. The area, which has endured over a decade of violent incursions by armed herders, has long accused soldiers stationed there of failing to protect residents.
Locals Accuse Military of Collusion
Residents in the affected communities alleged that soldiers deployed at Tse-Orbiam routinely ignore distress calls and sometimes obstruct local vigilante operations. This growing mistrust, they said, prompted the police-led rescue mission.
“The army should be confronting terrorists, not shooting at sister security agencies or unarmed villagers,” said Hon. Victor Ormin, Chairman of Gwer West Local Government, who confirmed that all 15 council wards in the area remain under occupation by armed militia groups.
Eyewitness Accounts
An indigene of the community, Sunday Terna, told RISMADAR that shortly after the attack on CSP Akegh’s convoy, about 15 heavily armed assailants believed to be Fulani militants returned to the area.
“They were chanting in Fulfulde and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ while attacking farmers. One person was killed, and his body was taken to the General Hospital in Naka,” he said.
Terna further alleged that a stray bullet from soldiers pursuing a youth struck a teenage boy in the leg, leaving him seriously injured.
Historical Pattern of Violence
The Gwer West region has remained a hotspot of insecurity. In January 2023, the Divisional Police Officer of Naka, CSP Mamud Abubakar, was ambushed and killed by armed herders just a few meters from a military checkpoint. Similarly, Rev. Fr. Solomon Atongo of St. John Parish, Jimba, was shot by suspected terrorists near Tyolaha Village but survived.
Analysts Condemn Incident
Security analyst and Naka native, Dr. Damian Attah, described the alleged military assault on CSP Akegh’s team as a “shameful and deliberate act” meant to prevent police from rescuing victims of terrorist attacks.
“The soldiers at Tse-Orbiam deliberately opened fire on the police convoy during a rescue operation. This is the disturbing pattern in Benue; soldiers ignore the terrorists but target local defenders,” Attah said.
Calls for Investigation
Former Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dickson Oche, warned that the growing rift between the army and police could jeopardize ongoing counterterrorism efforts in the Middle Belt. Civil society groups have also called for an independent investigation into the shooting, urging federal authorities to clarify the military’s role in the deteriorating security landscape.
As of press time, neither the Nigerian Army nor the Benue State Police Command had issued an official response to the reported confrontation.
Meanwhile, tension remains high along the Naka; Makurdi corridor, with many residents fleeing to safer areas amid fears of renewed militia attacks.
