Nigeria gunman attack kills 62, injures 52 and displaces thousands in Taraba state

At least 62 people have been killed after gunmen attacked a community in northeastern Nigeria, the emergency agency said on Tuesday.

The attack, allegedly carried out by criminals known as bandits, took place on Friday in Binnar community in Karim-Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State and also injured 52 other people and displaced thousands, according to Ladan Ayuba, the state head of the National Emergency Management Agency.

Bandit attacks are common in northern Nigeria, where armed groups carry out attacks against the civilian population.

So far, 52 bodies have been recovered, including 15 from River Benue, NEMA officials said.

The Taraba police spokesman said the number was not final as more bodies were still being found. “We still have men on the ground, and the more bodies we get, the more bodies we get, we will account for,” Victor Mshelizah told the AP.

The director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, said the militants had used the river to their advantage. “What happened was that people were chased towards the river, they threw themselves into the river in an attempt to escape the bandits,” Sanusi said.

Nigeria is facing a very complex security crisis, where civilians are regularly attacked by bandits who carry out large-scale kidnappings for ransom and control illegal mining sites, as well as by Islamist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province.