Armed Gunmen Launch Attack on Nigerian Village of Binnari—Death Toll Disputed Between 10 and 40

Nigeria's police announced that at least 10 people were killed in an attack carried out by armed gunmen on the village of Binnari in Taraba State in eastern Nigeria, shortly after Friday prayers, as the country continues to struggle with armed crime and militant groups in several areas.

Eyewitnesses told the AFP news agency that the death toll exceeded 20 people, while Amnesty International raised the figure to 40 dead, noting that additional bodies were found after the police's initial announcement.

Saidou Nouhou, a village resident, told the AFP: "After the attackers withdrew, we counted more than 20 bodies, and some people are still missing." Another Binnari resident, Isiaku Musa, confirmed in turn that the death toll reached at least 20 people.

Community leader Mallam Abubakar Sifallahu told the AFP that the attackers arrived on approximately fifty motorcycles, two per motorcycle, before they raided the village. He added: "They looted shops and took money, food supplies, and other provisions, and also seized motorcycles left behind by those fleeing the attack."

Amnesty International criticized Nigerian authorities for "leaving rural communities in certain northern areas prey to armed men who commit repeated atrocities without accountability."

Armed crime has become a growing problem in northwestern and central Nigeria, with armed gangs waging conflicts against police and military forces stretched thin across remote rural areas that are difficult to access. Taraba State itself faces threats from ideologically unaffiliated "bandit" gangs that raid villages, abduct people for ransom extortion, and impose "taxes" on farmers and workers in areas beyond state control. Nigeria is also engaged in an ongoing armed conflict stemming from Boko Haram's uprising in 2009.

In a separate development, the Nigerian military announced that it killed 15 "terrorists" in an airstrike on Borno State in the country's northeast.