An attack launched by gunmen suspected to be bandits on Binnari town in Karim-Lamdo Local Government Area of Taraba State has reportedly claimed the lives of over 50 persons, including women and children.
Daily Trust gathered that 51 people were buried on Saturday and the body of one person was recovered on Sunday, bringing the number of those who died in the attacks to 52. Several other persons, including a six-month-old baby, Adamu Rayyanu, sustained gunshot wounds.
Amnesty International Nigeria also noted that 40 people were killed in the attack, which occurred on Friday and that additional bodies were being discovered.
But the Police Public Relations Officer, Taraba State Command, ASP Victor Mshelizah, said only 10 people were killed.
It was learnt that several others are still missing as the search for more bodies inside the bush and Binnari River continues.
Jibri Dabo, a boat operator in Binnari, told Daily Trust that he led the team of local divers inside the river, where they recovered 41 bodies inside the water.
He said when the bandits invaded the town shortly after Jumm’at prayers, people started running in different directions. According to him, most people drowned inside the river while escaping from the attack.
He explained that most of those who drowned were people who attended the market from Gombe, Bauchi and Plateau states and could not swim.
Dabo said other victims were from Jigawa and Yobe states who came to work in rice farms, adding that a team comprising mostly young divers from the community recovered the bodies.
He said some of the bandits observed the Friday prayer with the residents of the town and started firing shots afterwards.
‘Shortly after the Friday prayers at about 3pm, bandits entered the town and opened fire in different directions and everybody started running. There was total confusion in the town. Everybody was running and unfortunately many of the residents who were taken unaware by attackers ran into the bandits while others ran into the river where they drowned,’ Dabo said.
He also revealed that the bandits operated for close to three hours, killing and looting shops unhindered.
According to him, the police came to the town around 9am on Saturday, while soldiers arrived in the evening.
Amnesty International, in a statement, described the attack as ‘utter disdain for the sanctity of life,’ calling for an impartial investigation and justice for the victims.
‘The community is now littered with dead bodies, some burnt beyond recognition, as families declare many still missing. The Nigerian authorities continue to leave rural communities in some parts of the north at the mercy of gunmen who repeatedly commit atrocities with impunity.
‘On the side of the authorities, issuing bland statements condemning these horrific attacks is not enough. Genuine commitment to protecting the people must be demonstrated by ensuring adequate security of lives and property, as well as ensuring justice for the victims. Consistent failure of the authorities to bring the suspected perpetrators to justice is clearly emboldening impunity,’ the organisation said.
Victims, locals recount ordeal
Adama Rayyanu, mother of a six-month-old baby boy who was shot in the foot, told Daily Trust that she was running to enter a boat with the baby cradled in her arms, but the bandits pursued her and other people to the river.
She said as she entered the boat, her baby was shot in the foot but did not die, while many others fell into the river and died. Adama explained that her husband escaped, and she left three of her children behind and took them to a nearby village.
Alhaji Saidu Ali, who narrowly escaped, said he ran for almost one hour in the forest.
‘I was running away from the market where I displayed my wares; unknown to me, it was the other traders who were running behind me. I thought it was the bandits that were pursuing me. I kept running until I got tired,’ Ali said.
He explained that he passed the night inside the forest and when he came back to the market, his wares and money had gone.
Owner of a private clinic in Nahuta village, Adams James, told Daily Trust that 15 victims were brought to his clinic with gunshots for treatment, adding that those with serious wounds were referred to hospitals in Mutumbiyu and Jalingo.
Bello Lawal, another resident, said the Friday attack was the third in two years, but the latest one was deadlier because of the casualty figure.
‘Fifty-two people were buried on Saturday and there are still many people who are missing, while many others could be either inside the river or in the forest. The search for the missing persons is ongoing,’ he said.
He said it is very difficult to give the exact number of people who died because most of the deceased were strangers who came for the market, while others were labourers from different states working on farms in Binnari.
Alhaji Tanko Andami, a community leader, told one of our correspondents that the gunmen looted shops and carted away motorcycles as well as provisions including cash and foodstuffs.
Another resident, Yahuza Binnari, who escaped into the nearby village, said the attackers in their numbers blocked the entrance to the town while some went straight into the market, shooting sporadically.
A trader, Alhaji Abubakar Binnari, lamented that traders lost almost all their goods because the bandits looted the shops in the town.
Gov demands action from security agencies
Meanwhile, Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, has ordered all relevant security agencies to take urgent steps to restore calm, protect lives and property, and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Kefas, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Digital Communication, Mr Emmanuel Bello, stressed that no effort must be spared in apprehending the perpetrators.
He maintained that everyone involved must be held accountable in accordance with the law.
He pledged his administration’s commitment to addressing insecurity and restoring lasting peace in Karim Lamido, adding that efforts were being made to facilitate the safe return of displaced persons to their communities.
‘As part of the broader peacebuilding efforts, the governor recently approved N1 billion for the Taraba State Bureau for Peace and Conflict Management to address the aftermath of previous crises and support initiatives aimed at restoring tranquillity in Karim Lamido,’ the governor said.
He condoled with the families of those killed and urged residents to remain calm and cooperate with security agencies as they work to restore normalcy.
Also, Senator representing Taraba North, Shuaibu Isa Lau, condemned the attack and called on security agents to protect the lives and property of the citizens.
He also called for the immediate resettlement of the displaced victims and provision of relief materials to them.
Meanwhile, the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (TSEMA) says it is conducting an on-the-spot assessment in the affected community and providing emergency humanitarian assistance to displaced and affected families.
The assessment and distribution team was led by the Executive Secretary of TSEMA, Dr. Audu Echuseh, alongside critical stakeholders from Karim Lamido, including members representing Karim Lamido Constituencies at the Taraba State House of Assembly, Hon. Anas Shuaibu Didango and Hon. Abner Shittu, the Vice Chairman of Karim Lamido Local Government Council, Alhaji Uba Munyarda, traditional leaders and other community stakeholders, who jointly participated in the exercise.
The relief items delivered include foodstuffs, mattresses, blankets, and other essential non-food items to cushion the hardship of victims who lost their homes and means of livelihood.
Poor surveillance, difficult terrain blamed for attack
A security analyst, Dr Kabiru Adamu, has blamed poor intelligence sharing, inadequate forest surveillance and weak coordination among neighbouring states for the recent deadly attacks in Taraba State.
Adamu, the chairman of Abuja-based Beacon Security Consulting Firm, in a chat with Daily Trust last night, said although Taraba had experienced banditry and communal clashes in the past, gaps in security coordination had allowed armed groups to move across state boundaries and attack communities.
He also identified longstanding inter-community conflicts and incursions by Ambazonian fighters from Cameroon as part of the state’s security challenges.
Speaking specifically about Karim Lamido, a border local government area, Adamu said its location made it vulnerable to attacks by armed groups moving from neighbouring states.
‘From time to time, we see incursions from these states. In this current one, the theory is that the incursion is from Plateau State,’ he said.
He said the attackers might have travelled through the Kambari Forest, possibly towards the Ankari Forest, noting that the forest corridors could provide access to Sambisa Forest and other parts of northern Nigeria.
Adamu said the existence of poorly governed spaces and the inability of neighbouring states to coordinate surveillance had made it difficult to track the movement of armed groups.
He also faulted the absence of effective community-based early warning systems, saying the attack occurred on a market day and there might have been warning signs before the violence.
‘If the communities had had early warning systems where they can report, and then there were early response systems too from the government and security agencies, maybe we would not be talking of these unfortunate numbers,’ he added.
The analyst attributed the escalation partly to the movement of criminal groups fleeing sustained security operations in other states.
‘Anytime there is sustained security operation in another state, what these criminal, violent actors do is they run away from that state,’ he said, explaining that the groups could later emerge from forest hideouts to replenish supplies in areas with limited security presence.
To prevent further attacks, Adamu called for a coordinated security framework involving Taraba, Bauchi and Gombe states, alongside the other states in the North-East.
He proposed a coordination centre to direct joint security operations and a regional intelligence fusion centre to collate information and transmit actionable intelligence to the military and police.
He also urged states without forest guards to adopt the federal government’s initiative, alongside deploying surveillance technology to monitor forest corridors.
‘It is a marriage of technology, humans, and systems that would help ensure an effective and efficient system that detects, delays, and responds to security incidents,’ he said.
Also speaking, Iliyasu Gadu, a renowned columnist and analyst from Taraba State, said the recent killings in Karim Lamido were baffling, given the state’s history of containing banditry and kidnapping.
Gadu said Taraba had experienced sporadic communal clashes, often arising from disputes over land, grazing rights and territorial claims, but had not witnessed banditry and kidnapping on the scale recorded in other parts of northern Nigeria.
‘Taraba has not been a hotbed like other states in the North and other parts of the country of banditry, kidnapping and related issues,’ he said.
He said there had been attempts by criminal elements from states such as Zamfara and Borno to infiltrate Taraba, but the government vigilance had helped check their activities.
According to him, successive state governments have also worked with traditional rulers, community leaders and other stakeholders to prevent banditry and kidnapping from taking root.
However, Gadu identified Karim Lamido’s difficult terrain, poor road access and extensive forests as factors that could make the area attractive to criminal groups seeking hideouts.
‘Karim is one of the very inaccessible parts of the state. It’s very remote, and there are no access roads to those areas,’ he said.
He added that the area’s proximity to Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa states, as well as the presence of forests and poorly governed spaces, could make it difficult for security agencies to detect movements of armed groups.
‘That perhaps is a factor. It’s a very strong factor for people who want to perpetrate their activities and make Karim a base,’ he said.
Gadu urged the Taraba State Government to strengthen security measures and ensure that traditional rulers, religious leaders, community representatives and security agencies work together to identify threats and develop practical responses.
He said existing military formations in the state, including a division, a brigade in the southern part and a battalion in Takum, could support efforts to contain the violence.
Gadu also urged Governor Kefas, a former military officer, to deploy the necessary personnel and resources to prevent further attacks.
‘As somebody from Taraba, I would call on the government to ensure that we don’t allow those people to have a toehold in our state. They have no place in our state,’ he said.
He called for the identification and prosecution of those responsible, in accordance with the law, warning that the state must not allow banditry and kidnapping to undermine the peaceful coexistence of its people.