Gunmen attack Binnari village in Taraba, Nigeria; death toll put at 25 to 52

Centre · 2Gunmen on motorcycles attacked the village of Binnari, in the Karim Lamido area of Taraba State, northeast Nigeria, shortly after Friday prayers, looting and burning shops and houses. 1 2 Centre · 1A community leader, Malam Abubakar Saifullahi, told AFP the attackers came on about 50 motorcycles, two men apiece, and took cash, food and abandoned motorcycles; the BBC reported the rampage lasted up to four hours. 1 Centre · 1The reported death toll rose over time and differs by source. Police first said they had recovered 10 bodies with gunshot wounds, while survivors counted at least 20 dead. 1

Centre · 2Amnesty International said on Saturday that at least 40 people were killed, and its Nigeria director, Isa Sanusi, said families told the group up to 50 had died, noting that the initial funeral had 37 people. The Taraba State government put the toll at 25 on Sunday, a discrepancy Anadolu said could not immediately be reconciled. 3 1 Centre · 1By Sunday, AFP reported the toll had reached at least 50, after residents said seven bodies were found on Friday and another 43 in a river on Saturday; Amnesty later gave a toll of 52. 2 Centre · 1Police and Amnesty both said some victims drowned while fleeing, and Amnesty said some were chased into the river by the gunmen. State police spokesman Victor Msheliza (named Mshelizah by the BBC) said officers were still searching the area and more deployments were being sent. 2

Centre · 1Police told the BBC the attackers had fled before officers arrived and that no casualties occurred on either side, which they attributed to difficult terrain the gunmen know well. 1 Centre · 2AFP described the attackers as a suspected "bandit" gang; bandits in Nigeria are described as driven by money rather than ideology, kidnapping for ransom and killing in poorly policed rural areas. No group has been named as responsible in the coverage, and the BBC called them unknown gunmen. 2 1 Centre · 2Amnesty called for an impartial investigation and accused the authorities of leaving rural communities "at the mercy of gunmen that repeatedly commit atrocities with impunity". 2 3

Centre · 1Governor Agbu Kefas condemned the killings and urged security agencies to step up protection and arrest those responsible, while his reelection campaign council warned politicians against politicizing the tragedy after criticism of the state government's handling of insecurity. 3 Centre · 2The attack comes amid wider insecurity in Nigeria, including a jihadist insurgency in the northeast lasting nearly two decades and banditry in the northwest and central regions. 1 2