In the past seven years, the Nigerian military has been accused of accidentally bombing about 409 unarmed civilians instead of targeting terrorists and bandits in their operations in the northern part of the country. Although the military authority has denied some of the claims, insisting their target was terrorists in the operations, reports indicate that several unsuspecting civilians have lost their lives in accidental airstrikes.
Recall, on 17 January 2017, a Nigerian Air Force jet mistakenly bombed an Internally Displaced Persons, IDP camp near the Cameroonian border in Rann LGA, Borno State.
The tragic incident led to the unfortunate death of at least 115 people, including about six Red Cross workers.
The widely reported incident on both local and international news platforms also injured over 100 IDPs.
On December 25, 2024, another incident occurred in Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa villages within the Surame Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
According to BBC, the military airstrikes were targeting the terror group Lakurawa in the villages when it mistakenly killed at least ten ‘innocent’ villagers.
The military initially denied the claim but later admitted it when the state governor, Ahmed Aliyu insisted that 10 villagers were killed while several others were wounded during the operation.
“The military jets were on their mission to eliminate criminal armed groups that terrorised the state and mistakenly bombed innocent people in this community,” Aliyu said in a statement after visiting the scene of the incident.
In a similar manner, the then Chief of Defence Staff, CDS Christopher Musa, accused the two communities of harbouring the Lakurawa terrorist group.
Musa, however, admitted that the airstrike, intended to flush out the Lakurawa terrorists, mistakenly hit Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa communities, resulting in the deaths of villagers and wounding several others.
In December 2023, a Nigerian army drone strike accidentally killed several civilians observing a Muslim festival in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna State.
Villagers who had gathered for a Maulud celebration heard, at about 9pm, what sounded like an aeroplane followed by a huge explosion.
Amnesty International reported that at least 120 unarmed civilians perished in the erroneous airstrike.
On December 18, 2022, an airstrike by the Nigerian Air Force killed at least 64 people in Mutumji village in Zamfara state.
Reports indicate that the military targeted bandits, causing mayhem in the state, but the deadly bomb ended up hitting innocent villagers.
On 24 January, 2023 a military airstrike allegedly killed about 50 herders in the Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
According to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, the explosion that led to the death of its members occurred when some herders went to retrieve their seized cattle from the Benue livestock guards.
When the then Chief of Air Staff, Hassan Abubakar, visited the place, he said the force acted on intelligence that terrorists were operating in the area.
Another erroneous airstrike was reported on Saturday, April 11, 2026, when the military allegedly struck the Jilli Market, located in Yobe State near Gubio local government area of Borno State.
Reports indicate that the operation resulted in the deaths of approximately 50 civilians, with several others sustaining serious injuries.
The military maintained that the location was a legitimate military target, describing Jilli as a known logistics hub and convergence point for ISWAP terrorist fighters.
In a statement on Sunday, the media information officer of the Northeast Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Lt. Col. Sanni Uba, said the operation followed sustained intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions that tracked the movements of suspected terrorists, including motorcycles and gun trucks, converging on the area.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force, NAF said it has taken note of reports alleging an erroneous airstrike in Jilli Market.
Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information, Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force, in a statement, said the NAF treats all reports of possible civilian harm with the utmost seriousness and empathy, as the protection of innocent lives remains central to all its operations.
According to the statement, in line with its commitment, the Chief of the Air Staff has directed an immediate activation of the Civilian Harm Accident and Investigation Cell to immediately proceed to the location on a fact-finding mission regarding the allegation.
It was learnt that the latest incident is currently generating reactions as Nigerians call for a thorough investigation and improved intelligence as the error is occurring too many times.
Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi, while reacting to the latest incident, questioned the accountability of those responsible for the operation, asking who authorised and executed the bombings that hit innocent civilians.
He called on the Senate to immediately conduct hearings into what he described as repeated “mistakes” involving the bombing of villages, markets, and other civilian locations.
On his part, Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum is on the side of the Nigerian military, as he disclosed on Sunday that the said market was shut down five years ago.