Gunmen kill at least 10 villagers and loot shops in northeast Nigeria
Police are searching for other casualties, with officials warning the actual death toll could rise further.
Gunmen kill at least 10 villagers and loot shops in northeast Nigeria
Unknown gunmen raided a remote village in Taraba state in northeast Nigeria, killing at least 10 people, looting shops and setting houses on fire, police said.
There are concerns the real death toll is far higher, with eyewitnesses saying 20 people were killed and a non-governmental organisation putting the figure at as many as 50.
The gunmen were said to have descended on Binnari village in the Karim Lamido area on motorcycles shortly after Muslim prayers at midday on Friday, carrying out an attack that lasted for up to four hours.
Police said they were searching the bush for more casualties, while Amnesty International accused the authorities of failing to protect rural communities.
Nigeria remains under attack from armed groups in several parts of the country, including the northwest, northeast and central regions.
The country is also confronting a jihadist insurgency in its northeast that has continued for nearly two decades, attracting repeated criticism of the government’s response to insecurity.
After the latest attack, police said they recovered 10 bodies with gunshot wounds after officers answered a distress call.
By the time they arrived, the attackers had already fled, but officers kept patrolling the area to restore calm, they told BBC News on Saturday.
"We were able to disperse the unknown gunmen though there was no casualty on their side and ours because the terrain is difficult and they're used to the terrain," Assistant Superintendent of Police Victor Mshelizah said.
He said officers were still searching the nearby bush for anyone who may have been killed or injured, and warned that the death toll could rise further.
Community leader Malam Abubakar Saifullahi told AFP news agency that the attackers came on about 50 motorcycles, with two men on each.
"They looted shops and took cash, foodstuffs and other provisions," he said. "They also took motorcycles abandoned by people fleeing the attack."
Survivors who spoke to AFP said they had counted at least 20 dead.
"People were running in different directions to escape the attack," Binnari resident Isiyaku Musa said. "Nobody knew where it was safe to go."
Another survivor, Sa'idu Nuhu, said some people were still missing.
Isa Sanusi, Amnesty's Nigeria director, told BBC News on Saturday that the NGO had spoken to bereaved families who said as many as 50 people had died.
"The initial funeral had 37 people," he said.
Sanusi called for an impartial investigation into the killings, accusing the authorities of leaving rural communities "at the mercy of gunmen that are repeatedly commit atrocities with impunity".