By Stephen Simon
The grim toll from Friday’s assault on Binnari community in Taraba State has climbed to at least 58, police confirmed Sunday, after search teams recovered additional bodies from surrounding bushes and a nearby river.
The attack struck on the community’s weekly market day, when gunmen opened fire indiscriminately on traders and residents during a rampage that lasted several hours, leaving scenes of devastation in its wake.
According to police spokesman Victor Mshelizah, 15 of the victims drowned when an overloaded canoe carrying fleeing residents capsized in the chaos, and authorities fear more people remain missing as rescue operations press on through difficult terrain.
Residents have accused security agencies of failing to protect the remote community, alleging that the assailants operated for more than four hours without resistance before retreating toward neighboring states.
The allegations have intensified questions about the reach of security forces in rural areas, where communities often say help arrives too late.
Meanwhile, the Taraba State Government has begun distributing emergency relief materials to affected families, even as grieving relatives continue to bury their dead and search for loved ones.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack in a state long plagued by communal clashes and banditry, and the motive remains unclear.
As rescue operations continue, the people of Binnari are left to confront a painful question: how many more names will be added to the list of the dead before the violence is finally addressed?
