The Nigerian Air Force on Sunday blamed a “misfire” for an airstrike that struck a market in northeastern Nigeria. Local media and human rights groups said over 100 civilians were killed in the attack, including women and children.
The village targeted in the attack, Jili, is located in the state of Yobe near the border with Borno, which is the epicenter of jihadi activity in Nigeria. Initial statements from the Nigerian Air Force said the airstrike was part of a “mop-up” operation “aimed at fleeing remnants and regrouping cells seeking to exploit the difficult terrain.”
Although the Nigerian military insisted the targets were “identified terrorist locations” associated with the jihadi group Boko Haram, local reports quickly indicated a civilian market in Jili was bombed with enormous loss of civilian life.
Amnesty International (AI) cited eyewitness accounts of at least 100 casualties, while local officials said “the total casualties, dead and injured, is around 200.”
“We have their pictures and they include children,” AI’s Nigeria director Isa Sanusi told the Associated Press (AP).
“Launching air raids is not a legitimate law enforcement method by anyone’s standard. Such reckless use of deadly force is unlawful, outrageous, and lays bare the Nigerian military’s shocking disregard for the lives of those it supposedly exists to protect,” AI said in a statement on the incident.
Nigerian media described the market in Jili as a busy venue which attracts traders and shoppers from several surrounding communities. The AP noted that Boko Haram fighters have long been known to purchase supplies at the market. Military analyst Abdulmumin Bulama said Nigerian forces may have acted on “credible information” that Boko Haram jihadis were massing near Jili and preparing a major offensive.
The Nigerian military insisted on Monday that it targeted a “terrorist enclave and logistics hub” near Jili. The statement noted that a great deal of motorcycle activity was observed near the target location — a red flag for jihadi activity, as Boko Haram and Islamic State fighters are prone to ride into villages on fleets of motorcycles when they attack. The Nigerian government has banned the use of motorcycles in the conflict zone for this reason.
Reuters on Monday cited a half-dozen other examples from the past few years of Nigeria launching airstrikes against jihadi targets that killed civilians. If the worst of the reports are true, the Jili bombing on Sunday will have a much higher civilian death toll than previous airstrikes.
Nigeria significantly increased the tempo of its counter-terrorist activity over the past year in response to pressure from President Donald Trump that it was not doing enough to protect vulnerable Christian villages against jihadis, plus mounting criticism from the Nigerian public about how unsafe much of the country has become. The initially confrontational relationship between Trump and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu became much more cooperative in early 2026, and in February the Pentagon announced it was sending a team of U.S. troops to train the Nigerian military in counter-terrorism tactics.
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