Binnari residents claim 40 dead in motorcycle raid, police list 10
Survivors and Amnesty International report a much higher casualty count than the initial police figure for the attack on the Taraba State village.
By Pedro Barnes ·
Police in Taraba State reported recovering 10 bodies after gunmen attacked Binnari village on Friday, but residents and human rights advocates are counting significantly higher numbers. The discrepancy has intensified scrutiny over the scale of violence in the central-eastern region of Nigeria.
Officials stated that the 10 confirmed deaths were recovered by Friday evening following an assault by a large group of riders on motorcycles. They noted that the attackers also seized food from local shops during the raid. The police confirmed the initial figure on Saturday, marking the baseline for the state's official count.
Survivors provided a different account to AFP, stating that at least 20 people lost their lives. Sa'idu Nuhu, a resident of Binnari, said that after the gunmen withdrew, the community counted more than 20 bodies. He added that some residents remained missing as of the time of the interview. Another resident, Isiyaku Musa, corroborated the estimate, placing the death toll at no fewer than 20.
Amnesty International reported in a statement on Saturday that 40 people were killed in the attack. The organization indicated that while police initially confirmed 10 deaths, additional bodies were discovered later on Saturday. Amnesty International criticized Nigerian authorities for leaving rural communities in the north vulnerable to repeated attacks by gunmen acting with impunity.
Malam Abubakar Saifullahi, a community leader, described the logistics of the raid. He said approximately 50 motorcycles, carrying two men each, arrived in the village. The assailants looted cash, foodstuffs, and provisions, and took motorcycles left behind by fleeing residents. The attack began just after Friday prayers.
Banditry has expanded across northwest and central Nigeria, where armed gangs operate without specific ideological drivers. These groups frequently raid villages, abduct individuals for ransom, and impose taxes on farmers and miners in areas with limited state presence. While Taraba is a central-eastern state, it faces similar threats from these non-ideological bandit networks.
In a separate incident on Saturday, the Nigerian military announced that it killed 15 terrorists in an airstrike in Borno State. This follows the ongoing conflict against Boko Haram, an armed rebellion that began with an uprising in 2009 in the northeastern part of the country.
