Tragedy struck as a Nigerian military fighter jet mistakenly struck and killed about 20 men of a vigilante group during an operation targeting bandits in Zamfara State.
The tragic incident occurred in Garin Mani, a village in the Maru Local Government Area, following an attack that left several residents dead.
Over 50 residents mostly farmers working on their fields, were abducted in the attack.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers stormed the area on motorcycles around noon, shooting indiscriminately and causing widespread panic.
In response, local vigilante groups mobilised and began chasing the fleeing assailants.
However, a military aircraft deployed to the scene allegedly misidentified the vigilantes as bandits and launched airstrikes on them.
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“We were pursuing the bandits when we saw the fighter jet approaching,” one of the vigilantes told BBC Hausa.
“It flew very low and started bombing us. Some of us survived by pretending we had been hit. When the jet left, we got up and fled to safety.”
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident and expressed disappointment over the lack of communication from the military.
“We understand it was an unfortunate mistake, but the military should acknowledge what happened and reach out to the victims’ families,” he said.
He also appealed to the government to deploy additional troops to the area, as the bandits had threatened to return.
Nigeria’s military has previously acknowledged mistakenly hitting civilians during air operations targeting armed gangs.
In January, at least 16 vigilantes were killed in a similar strike in Zamfara’s Zurmi district.
In December 2022, more than 100 civilians were killed in Mutunji village while pursuing bandits. A year later, an attack on a religious gathering in Kaduna state killed at least 85 people.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigerian military has yet to issue an official statement on the latest incident.
