Terrorists killed at least 17 police officers and an unspecified number of soldiers during a pre-dawn assault on the Nigerian Army Special Forces School in Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area (LGA) of Yobe State, on May 8, 2026, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) confirmed on Saturday.
The attack was launched in the early hours of May 8 at approximately 1:15 a.m., when terrorists struck the training facility from multiple directions simultaneously. The coordinated nature of the assault, targeting a fortified military institution from several angles at once, pointed to a level of planning and local intelligence that security analysts say is characteristic of organised insurgent groups operating in Nigeria’s northeast.
The officers who died were undergoing specialised operational training at the institution at the time of the attack. Several Nigerian Army personnel also lost their lives while repelling the assailants. The full military death toll has not been officially released.
The choice of target carries strategic weight beyond the immediate loss of life. The Nigerian Army Special Forces School in Buni Yadi is one of the country’s dedicated facilities for advanced counter-terrorism and tactical training. By striking it, the attackers targeted not individual officers but the pipeline through which Nigeria produces trained anti-insurgency personnel, a deliberate blow to the security architecture in a region that has faced sustained militant activity for over a decade.
Force Public Relations Officer Deputy Commissioner of Police Anthony Placid confirmed the losses in a statement issued in Abuja. Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu described the fallen personnel as courageous and dedicated individuals who demonstrated exceptional patriotism.
The Commissioner of Police for Yobe State, Usman Kanfani Jibrin, visited the institution on behalf of the Inspector-General, where he commiserated with the Commandant of the School, Brigadier General A.C. Enuagu, officers of the Nigerian Army, and surviving police personnel still undergoing training at the facility. He commended the resilience of the surviving officers and encouraged them to remain resolute in completing the training programme in honour of their fallen colleagues.
Buni Yadi has a long history of insurgent violence. The town, which serves as the headquarters of Gujba LGA, has been repeatedly targeted by Boko Haram and its splinter faction the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) over the years, with military installations among the preferred targets. The May 8 attack arrives against the backdrop of intensified counter-insurgency operations across Nigeria’s northeast, including a joint Nigerian-United States strike that eliminated a senior Islamic State commander in the region just days later on May 16.
The Inspector-General of Police assured Nigerians that the Force, working closely with the Armed Forces and other security agencies, would sustain ongoing efforts to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice.
No group has formally claimed responsibility for the Buni Yadi attack as of the time of this report.
