The death toll from an attack by gunmen in Taraba State has risen to at least 50, survivors and Amnesty International told AFP Sunday, after more bodies were discovered.
Both police and Amnesty said some of the victims had drowned while trying to flee the attackers.
Taraba is sandwiched between northeastern Nigeria, which has a long-running jihadist insurgency, and the volatile central region, which faces criminal gangs known as bandits.
Driven by money rather than ideology, the bandits in Nigeria target poorly policed rural areas, kidnapping for ransom and killing.
“On Friday, we found seven bodies after the bandits attacked our community,” said Bashir Mamuda Musa, a resident of Binnari, in Taraba state.
“The following day, Saturday, we discovered another 43 bodies in the river, bringing the total to 50,” he added.
The new toll was confirmed by resident Abdullahi Zakari.
“Many residents, including women and children, fled towards the river in an attempt to escape the gunmen,” Zakari told AFP.
“Unfortunately, several people drowned while trying to flee the attack.”
‘Chased into river’
Bodies can often be difficult to recover when communities scatter. Some were discovered in a nearby river, according to both police and Amnesty.
Police spokesman for the state Victor Msheliza told AFP on Sunday that they were still searching the area.
Officers “found some (bodies) in the river” of people who were trying to escape, he said.
Police were immediately deployed to the area after the attack, more deployments being sent, he said.
Amnesty International gave a toll of 52 on Sunday, saying the attackers had come “in large numbers and set ablaze shops and market stalls”.
“The bandits invaded in large numbers,… chased people and they headed toward the river to escape,” and drowned, Amnesty International Nigeria director Isa Sanusi told AFP. “Some were chased into the river by the gunmen”.
Banditry has become a growing problem in northwest and central Nigeria, with powerful gangs battling overstretched police and military across hard-to-reach, rural locations.
They raid villages and impose “taxes” on farmers and mining operations in areas with little state presence.
Amnesty, in a post on X, blamed the Nigerian authorities for leaving some rural communities “at the mercy of gunmen that repeatedly commit atrocities with impunity.
“Consistent failure of the authorities to bring the suspected perpetrators to justice is clearly emboldening impunity,” the rights group said on social media.
