Updated October 2026: The toll has risen to 62, but the church and religion details still aren't supported. The national emergency agency (NEMA) said on Tuesday, October 27, that at least 62 people were killed and 52 wounded in the Binnari attack in Taraba state, which happened on Friday, October 23. Its Taraba head, Ladan Ayuba, said thousands were displaced, and 52 bodies had been recovered, 15 of them from the Benue River. Taraba police gave a lower figure of 58 earlier, including 15 people who drowned in a capsized canoe, and police say the count is provisional. AFP reported on Sunday that survivors counted 50 dead at that point. Coverage from Brit Brief, citing the AP and Africanews describes the attackers as bandits who came on motorcycles and used the river to trap people. None of these reports calls the victims Christians or the attackers Islamists. Amnesty International's Nigeria director describes it as a bandit attack. The Christian-persecution outlets I found cover other attacks in Plateau, Kaduna and Adamawa, not this one. If you saw the church claim somewhere, the figure 62 may have been attached to it by mistake. Read the earlier discussion of the toll for more.
🕒 Updated October 2026
