One 'Misfire' And 200 Killed: Nigerian Air Force Opens Fire At Market, Kills Hundreds Of Innocent Civilians

A Nigerian Air Force strike targeting jihadi rebels hit a local market in northeastern Nigeria, killing over 200 civilians including children and injuring many others, a rights group and local media reported on Sunday. Officials confirmed a misfire without providing details.

Amnesty International cited survivors had initially said that at least 100 people were killed in the airstrike on Saturday on a village in Yobe state, near the border with Borno state, which is the epicenter of the jihadi insurgency that has ravaged the region for over a decade. Later, Reuters reported that the death toll has reached 200. The exact figure is yet to be released officials by the Nigerian Army.

“We have their pictures and they include children,” Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Nigeria director, told The Associated Press, referring to the casualties.

Villagers killed in airstrike between Borno and Yobe states

“We are in touch with people that are there, we spoke with the hospital,” he said. “We spoke with the person in charge of casualties, and we spoke with the victims.”

Lawan Zanna Nur Geidam, the councillor and traditional head of Fuchimeram ward in Yobe's Geidam district, told Reuters that those injured were being taken to hospitals in Yobe and Borno. "It's a very devastating incident at Jilli Market. As I'm speaking to you, over 200 people have lost their lives from the air strike ⁠at the market," he said in a telephone interview.

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A worker at the Geidam General hospital, in Yobe, said at least 23 people injured in the incident were receiving treatment. The worker spoke anonymously as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

500 killed in in past 9 years

Such misfires are common in Nigeria, where the military often conducts air raids to battle armed groups who control vast forest enclaves. At least 500 civilians have died since 2017 in such misfires, according to an AP tally of reported deaths. Security analysts point to loopholes in intelligence gathering as well as insufficient coordination between ground troops, air assets and stakeholders.

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The large, remote market located near the Borno-Yobe border is known to be often used by Boko Haram jihadis to buy food supplies.

Abdulmumin Bulama, a member of a civilian security group working with the Nigerian military in the northeast, said there was intelligence that Boko Haram terrorists had gathered very close to the market and were planning an attack on nearby communities.

“The intel was shared and the Air Force jet acted based on the credible information,” Bulama said.

The Yobe State Government confirmed in a statement that a Nigerian military strike was targeting a stronghold of the Boko Haram jihadi group in the area and that “some people … who went to the Jilli weekly market were affected.”

The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency also acknowledged that an incident had occurred resulting in “casualties affecting some marketers” and said it had dispatched response teams to the area.

Nigeria’s military issued a statement saying it conducted a successful strike on a “terrorist enclave and logistics hub” belonging to jihadis in the area, killing scores of them as they rode on motorcycles. It did not provide any detail about a possible misfire, but noted that motorcycles remain prohibited in conflict hot spots and “any such movements in restricted areas are therefore treated with the utmost seriousness.”

Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into the incident, adding that the military is “fond of” labeling civilian casualties as bandits.

Boko Haram in Nigeria

Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north, where there is a decade-long insurgency and several armed groups that kidnap for ransom.

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province. There is also the IS-linked Lakurawa group operating in communities in the northwestern part of the country that borders Niger Republic.

(With inputs from agencies)

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