• Over 50 victims buried after Taraba gunmen attack
Worried about the deadly attack on Binari community in Karim Lamido Local Council Area of Taraba State, in which about 50 people were killed, the Northern Senators Forum has called for a Forward Operating Base along the River Benue corridor to stem terrorist attacks and killings.
   
The forum also demanded intelligence-led patrols along the Kompany-Asusar route to prevent further killings and protect vulnerable communities.
   
The attack last Friday reportedly claimed the lives of worshippers, vigilantes, women and children shortly after Juma’at prayers in Karim-Lamido Local Council Area.
   
In a condolence message yesterday, the chairman of the forum, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, described the killings as barbaric and expressed sympathy with the bereaved families and the government.
  
According to the senators, the proposed Forward Operating Base and intelligence-driven patrols along the Kompany-Asusar route would improve surveillance and help prevent further attacks.
   
The forum urged the police, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to strengthen operations and coordinate efforts to restore security. It stressed that the response must go beyond relief efforts to the identification and prosecution of the perpetrators.
   
The forum also appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency and well-meaning Nigerians to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to affected residents, particularly displaced families.
   
Meanwhile, a resident of Binnari community told BBC Hausa that the attack has left the community in fear and confusion, recalling that the attackers invaded the community on no fewer than 150 motorcycles and started shooting indiscriminately.
   
For their part, the Taraba State Police Command said the death toll has reached 48, with the police spokesperson, Victor Mshelizah, saying the figure increased after 23 additional bodies were recovered on Sunday.
   
The police added that investigations showed that some victims drowned while trying to escape from the attackers, while others were killed in nearby forests.
   
However, residents maintain that over 50 people died in the incident for which no group has yet claimed responsibility.