Dozens of civilians are feared dead following a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) airstrike on a market in Jilli, a suburb of Geidam in Yobe State, on Saturday evening. The strike occurred along the Borno–Yobe boundary and targeted suspected insurgents, but instead hit a busy trading area during peak hours. Local sources and officials reported that many of those injured and killed were unarmed traders and bystanders. Survivors were transported to hospitals in Geidam and nearby communities for treatment. A councillor in Jilli ward, Ibraheem Geidam, appealed for blood donations to assist the injured. The market is a major commercial hub serving traders from both Borno and Yobe states. Witnesses told Yerwa Express that insurgents had briefly entered the market to collect levies before the strike. Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, NAF spokesperson, confirmed the operation as a "precision strike" on террорист locations, part of a coordinated air-ground mission with Nigerian Army troops. He did not address reports of civilian casualties. The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) condemned the incident and demanded an independent investigation. Its Executive Director, Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani), cited weak intelligence and inadequate targeting safeguards as systemic risks. The incident echoes a December airstrike in Kukawa, Borno, where civilians, including fishermen and drivers, were killed.
Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani), head of CISLAC, has put the Nigerian military's credibility on notice by demanding accountability for yet another airstrike that killed civilians in a known commercial zone. The fact that the NAF confirmed targeting the Jilli axis but refused to acknowledge civilian deaths—despite overwhelming local evidence—reinforces a troubling pattern of institutional detachment. When a market, frequented by cross-border traders and active during peak hours, is struck without prior warning or subsequent admission, it raises serious questions about operational discipline.
This is not an isolated intelligence failure but a recurring feature of counterinsurgency operations in Nigeria's northeast. The December strike in Kukawa, where at least 10 vehicles were destroyed and civilians killed, remains unacknowledged by the Air Force. The refusal to investigate or compensate victims erodes public trust, particularly in communities already traumatized by both insurgency and state response. The military's reliance on "precision strike" rhetoric rings hollow when verification mechanisms and post-operation transparency are absent.
Ordinary traders, farmers, and residents in border towns like Jilli bear the brunt of these operations. Their livelihoods depend on open markets, yet they live under the constant risk of being misclassified as combatants. Without independent oversight, these communities are effectively caught between violence from non-state actors and the very forces meant to protect them.
A pattern is clear: military operations in civilian-populated zones continue with minimal accountability. Each uninvestigated strike deepens alienation in the northeast and undermines the legitimacy of the state's security architecture.
