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Nigerian police reported that a large group of gunmen carried out the assault on Binnari village in the Karim-Lamido area of Taraba state with the attackers arriving on motorcycles and opening fire after midday prayers. The raiders looted food items from shops and set multiple houses ablaze during an operation that lasted up to four hours forcing many residents to flee into surrounding bushland. According to a statement cited by Reuters and Al Jazeera on October 24 2026 officers had recovered 10 bodies by Friday evening although the police noted that searches were continuing in the area.
Survivors offered higher estimates of the casualties and described the chaos that unfolded. Binnari resident Isiyaku Musa told AFP that people were running in different directions to escape the attack and nobody knew where it was safe to go. Another resident Sa’idu Nuhu said after the attackers left we counted more than 20 bodies and some people were still missing a toll that other eyewitnesses echoed in interviews with multiple outlets including the BBC.
Amnesty International provided its own assessment of the death toll after conducting inquiries with affected families. The rights organisation said in a statement that while police had earlier confirmed the killing of 10 people more bodies were recovered later on Saturday bringing the count to at least 40. Amnesty’s Nigeria director Isa Sanusi told the BBC that the group had spoken to bereaved families who said up to 50 people had died adding that the initial funeral had 37 people.
The attack fits into a pattern of escalating banditry across northern Nigeria. Reuters reporting has detailed a surge in raids by heavily armed criminal gangs known locally as bandits who target villages to abduct residents for ransom and steal livestock. Amnesty International has stated that rampaging gunmen have killed hundreds in the north since 2018 according to a review published by Naija News on October 14 2026.
Local leaders detailed the scale of the invading force that struck Binnari. Community leader Malam Abubakar Saifullahi told AFP that the attackers arrived on about 50 motorcycles with two men apiece before launching the raid. Residents who spoke to Al Jazeera and Reuters indicated that the assault prompted a significant displacement with many villagers still unaccounted for as recovery efforts proceeded into the weekend.
Rights monitors have pointed to systemic issues enabling such violence. Amnesty International Nigeria stated that the authorities continue to leave rural communities in some parts of the north at the mercy of gunmen that repeatedly commit atrocities with impunity. The group added that consistent failure to bring suspected perpetrators to justice is clearly emboldening further attacks a trend observed in several northeast incidents throughout 2026 according to data compiled by the organisation.
