•Terrorists
The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the killing of 17 police officers and an undisclosed number of soldiers in an attack on the Nigerian Army Special Forces School in Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State by Boko Haram terrorists.
Force spokesperson, Anthony Okon Placid, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Placid said the attack occurred in the early hours of May 8, 2026, around 1:15 am, reports Daily Trust.
He explained that the officers were undergoing advanced tactical and counter-terrorism training when gunmen launched what he described as a coordinated overnight assault on the military facility from multiple directions.
“The officers paid the supreme price in service to the nation following a terrorist attack on the Nigerian Army Special Forces School, Buni Yadi,” he said.
He added that several soldiers were also killed while repelling the attack, but did not provide an official figure for military casualties. The Nigerian military also did not disclose the number of soldiers killed.
Sources in Buni Yadi said the attackers engaged security forces in a fierce gun battle that lasted more than three hours.
“The terrorists withdrew around 4:00 am, leaving 17 police officers dead and over 20 soldiers dead,” a member of the civilian Joint Task Force said.
He added that military personnel evacuated their own casualties immediately after the encounter, while police were initially unable to recover the bodies of their slain officers until the following day.
“The police later recovered the corpses and took them to the mortuary at the University Teaching Hospital, Damaturu, from where police vehicles arrived and conveyed them to Maiduguri,” he said.
He described the incident as one of the fiercest encounters in recent memory, saying both security operatives and residents agreed that nothing of such magnitude had occurred since the Boko Haram insurgency began.
“The intense firefight we witnessed that night was different. We have never seen anything like it since the Boko Haram insurgency started,” he said.
He further said the terrorists eventually retreated when they realised they could not breach the facility, loot weapons, or destroy military equipment.
Boko Haram insurgents have made several attempts in the past to overrun military positions in the area, given the strategic importance of Buni Yadi in ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, described the slain officers as courageous personnel who demonstrated patriotism and unwavering dedication to national security.
He assured Nigerians that the Nigeria Police Force, in collaboration with the Armed Forces and other security agencies, would sustain ongoing efforts to ensure that the perpetrators of the attack are brought to justice.
Meanwhile, the Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Usman Jibrin, visited the Nigerian Army Special Forces School on behalf of the Inspector-General, where he met the commandant, Brigadier General A.C. Enuagu, other military officers, and surviving police trainees.
He urged the remaining trainees to remain steadfast and complete their training programme in honour of their fallen colleagues.
He reiterated that the Police Force, working closely with the Armed Forces and other security agencies, would continue its ongoing efforts to ensure that the attackers are apprehended and brought to justice.
Residents of Buni Yadi town have expressed deep sorrow over the killing of the police officers and soldiers.
One resident, who claimed to have been a coursemate of one of the slain officers, said efforts were made by community members to secure the release of the bodies for burial rites.
“Unfortunately, our request was rejected at the University Teaching Hospital, Damaturu, before the corpses were conveyed to Maiduguri, where the officers were laid to rest,” he said.
