Gunmen have killed at least 10 people in an attack on a village in eastern Nigeria, police said on Saturday. The country continues to battle banditry and armed groups.
Nigerian police said 10 bodies had been recovered by Friday evening after a large group of armed men on motorcycles attacked Binnari village in Taraba State. The attackers also looted food from local shops during the raid.
Survivors reported a much higher death toll. Witnesses told reporters that at least 20 people were killed.
Human rights group Amnesty International stated on Saturday that the death toll had reached 40. Police initially confirmed 10 fatalities, but more bodies were recovered later on Saturday.
Residents said the gunmen opened fire just after Friday prayers. Around 50 motorcycles, carrying two men each, arrived in the community before the raid began, according to community leader Malam Abubakar Saifullahi.
Saifullahi stated that the attackers took cash, foodstuffs, and other provisions. They also stole motorcycles abandoned by villagers who fled.
Binnari resident Sa’idu Nuhu said he and others counted more than 20 bodies after the attackers left. He added that several people remained missing.
Amnesty International criticised Nigerian authorities for failing to protect rural populations. The group said authorities leave rural communities in northern regions at the mercy of gunmen committing atrocities with impunity.
Banditry has become a growing security crisis across northwest and central Nigeria. Powerful criminal gangs regularly clash with overstretched police and military forces in remote rural areas.
Taraba State faces threats from these non-ideological bandit gangs. Such groups routinely raid villages, kidnap residents for ransom, and levy taxes on farmers and miners in areas with minimal state presence.
Separately, the Nigerian military announced on Saturday that an air strike had killed 15 terrorists in northeastern Borno state.
