Taraba Village Assault: 40 Dead as Police Count 10

Forty people died in the attack on Binnari village, according to Amnesty International. The human rights group released its count on Saturday, sharply contrasting with the ten bodies police had recovered by the previous evening. The discrepancy highlights the gap between official records and community accounts in the Taraba State assault.

The violence unfolded just after Friday prayers. Malam Abubakar Saifullahi, a community leader, told AFP that the attackers arrived on approximately 50 motorcycles. Two men rode on each vehicle. The group raided the village, looting shops and seizing cash, foodstuffs, and provisions. They also took motorcycles that villagers had abandoned while fleeing the gunfire.

Police officers stated on Saturday that ten bodies had been recovered by Friday evening. They confirmed the attackers had looted food during the raid. However, more bodies were found later on Saturday, a development Amnesty International noted in its statement. The organization said authorities continue to leave rural communities in parts of the north at the mercy of gunmen committing atrocities with impunity.

Survivors provided lower but still elevated estimates to AFP. Sa'idu Nuhu, a Binnari resident, said the community counted more than 20 bodies after the attackers left. He noted that some people remained missing. Isiyaku Musa, another resident, also put the death toll at no fewer than 20. These accounts sit between the police figure and the Amnesty International total.

Banditry has grown in northwest and central Nigeria, where gangs clash with overstretched security forces in remote areas. Taraba, located in central-eastern Nigeria, faces similar threats from groups not driven by ideology. These bands raid villages, kidnap people for ransom, and levy taxes on farmers and miners in areas with little state presence. The state’s police and military forces often struggle to cover the hard-to-reach rural terrain.

The attack in Taraba occurred on the same day the Nigerian military announced a separate strike. In the northeastern state of Borno, the military said it killed 15 terrorists in an air strike. This action is part of the ongoing fight against the armed rebellion that began with the Boko Haram uprising in 2009. The simultaneous reports underscore the scale of armed violence across different regions of the country.

The dispute over the final death toll remains a central point of contention. While police confirmed ten deaths initially, the discovery of additional bodies on Saturday pushed the verified count higher. Amnesty International’s figure of 40 stands as the highest reported total. Residents continue to search for missing family members as the investigation into the raid progresses.