Gunmen kill at least 48 in Taraba village raid

At least 48 people were killed in Binnari, a remote village in Taraba State, after unidentified gunmen on motorcycles attacked on Friday, police said. The death toll rose from an initial count of 10 bodies recovered by police when they answered a distress call. The attackers entered just after midday Muslim prayers and stayed for up to four hours. They looted shops, took cash, foodstuffs and abandoned motorcycles, and set houses on fire. Some victims drowned while trying to flee across water, while others were found dead in nearby bushes. State police spokesperson Victor Mshelizah said the gunmen rode on about 50 motorcycles, two men per bike, and fled before officers arrived. He added that police were able to disperse the gunmen without casualties on either side because the terrain favored the attackers. Community leader Malam Abubakar Saifullahi confirmed the scale of the raid and the loss of property. Survivors such as Isiyaku Musa described panic as people ran in different directions, not knowing where safety lay. Amnesty International’s Nigeria director Isa Sanusi said the NGO had spoken to families who reported up to 52 deaths and called for an impartial investigation, accusing authorities of leaving rural communities at the mercy of gunmen who act with impunity. The incident adds to years of jihadist and gang violence in north‑eastern Nigeria and comes as the country prepares for elections next year, where security is expected to dominate political debate.

Context

Rural attacks like the Binnari raid are part of a broader pattern of armed groups targeting vulnerable communities in Nigeria’s northeast, often exploiting difficult terrain to evade security forces.