No fewer than 40 persons have been reportedly killed in an attack on Binnari Village in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria, by yet-to-be-identified gunmen
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, shortly after the Muslim Juma’at prayers. Unconfirmed reports put the number of casualties at at least 40 people.
BusinessDay gathered that while Amnesty International also put the casualty figure at 40, local police in Taraba State put the figure at 10 before more bodies were recovered.
BusinessDay also gathered that many of the residents were reportedly missing, while some were injured, from the attacks.
Reports indicated that the armed men arrived in the community in large numbers on about 50 motorcycles, with each bike carrying two attackers. It was gathered that they opened fire indiscriminately, while also setting homes, shops, and food supply stores ablaze.
They also resorted to looting cash, provisions, and abandoned motorcycles, as they fled the town. Amnesty International have however, criticised the Nigerian government for a slow response, noting that the rural communities and vulnerable areas were abandoned to armed criminal gangs (‘bandits’) who operate with high levels of impunity.
The attackers invaded the village with heavy gunfire and looted food items from shops, police said.
Recall that many Northern communities have consistently experienced a surge in attacks by heavily armed criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, who raid villages, abduct residents for ransom and steal livestock.
The Nigerian military is, however, yet to officially provide information on the attack.
Taraba State, located along the Nigeria-Cameroon border in the North Eastern part of the country, also has one of the largest forest reserves known as the Gashaka Gumti Forest Reserve.
Several leaders in the region have called on the federal government to protect the region against terrorists who constantly raid the region and retreat to the unmanned spaces within the state.