Nigeria gunmen attack kills 62, wounds 52 and displaces thousands in Taraba state

At least 62 people were killed and 52 injured in a bandit attack on Nigeria's Taraba state. Thousands were displaced as gunmen chased residents towards the Benue River, where some drowned while trying to escape.

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

The attack, reportedly carried out by criminals known as bandits, happened on Friday in Binnari community located in the Karim-Lamido local government area of Taraba state, and also wounded 52 other people and displaced thousands, according to Ladan Ayuba, the state head of the National Emergency Management Agency.

Attacks by bandits are common across northern Nigeria where armed groups carry out attacks against civilian populations.

Fifty-two bodies have been recovered so far, including 15 from the Benue River, NEMA officials said.

A Taraba police spokesperson said the figure is not definite as more bodies are still being recovered. “We still have men on the ground, and the more we recover bodies, we will put them in account,” Victor Mshelizah told The Associated Press.

Amnesty International Nigeria director Isa Sanusi said the gunmen used the river to their advantage. “What happened was that people were chased towards the river, they launched into the river trying to escape the bandits," Sanusi said.

Nigeria faces a very complex security crisis where civilians are regularly attacked by bandits who carry out large-scale kidnapping for ransom and control illegal mine sites, and also by Islamist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province.