The Nigerian military and the Borno State Government have jointly defended the weekend airstrike on Jilli village market near the Borno–Yobe border, insisting the target was a legitimate terrorist enclave even as public anger grows over rising civilian casualties.
The strike, carried out on Saturday under Operation HADIN KAI, has sparked widespread backlash, with local authorities, political leaders, and rights groups condemning the incident amid conflicting accounts of casualties. While local sources reported the death toll at over 40 civilians.
Meanwhile sources from the state told Spear News Nigeria that the number of casualties were over 50 as earlier reported by the media.
The military, however, maintained that the location was a legitimate military target, describing Jilli as a known logistics hub and convergence point for fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province.
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.
“The Air Component of Joint Task Force (North East) Operation HADIN KAI, in a carefully, well-coordinated, planned, and intelligence-driven operation, has successfully conducted a precision airstrike on a known terrorist enclave and logistics hub located near the abandoned village of Jilli in Gubio Local Government Area of Borno State,” Uba said.
He cited a recent attack on troops in the area, which led to the death of eight soldiers, while several others were wounded in action. “It will be recalled that in January 2026, troops moving from Gubio towards Damasak came under a major Improvised Explosive Device attack along the road at Bindul, resulting in the tragic loss of eight soldiers.
More recently, on 9 April, coordinated attacks were recorded in Ngamdu and Benisheik, supported by the same terrorist logistics network.”
Uba further disclosed that on Sunday, a terrorist logistics courier identified as “Turja Bulu” was arrested at Ngamdu Town and confessed to participating in the 9 April attack at Benisheik.
Defending the military, Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, warned residents against aiding, harbouring, or providing logistical support to Boko Haram insurgents.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Dauda Iliya, Zulum described the Jilli market as a notorious hub allegedly used by insurgents and their logistics suppliers.
“Let me state categorically that the Borno State Government closed Jilli and Gazabure markets five years ago. I am in close consultation with the Government of Yobe State and the military hierarchy on the matter”, the Governor said.
The Yobe State Government acknowledged that the operation targeted a Boko Haram stronghold but noted that civilians were inadvertently hit during the strike.
The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency confirmed that civilians, including traders from Geidam who had crossed into the border community for market activities, were affected.
However, Amnesty International condemned the strike, describing it as “reckless” and calling for an immediate and impartial investigation.
The group alleged that over 100 people may have been killed, citing witness accounts that military jets bombed the busy market.
“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.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar also decried the incident, calling it a “devastating failure” and questioning the value placed on Nigerian lives.
In response, the Nigerian Air Force said it had activated its Civilian Harm Accident and Investigation Cell to conduct a fact-finding mission. “The Service treats all reports of possible civilian harm with the utmost seriousness and empathy, as the protection of innocent lives remains central to all NAF operations,” said Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information.
Defending the military, former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), described the area as a known terrorist enclave. “Any loss of innocent life is deeply unfortunate and painful. However, the operation was a targeted military action based on credible intelligence,” Buratai said in a statement.
“It is deeply regrettable that innocent lives may have been caught in the strike, but the responsibility rests with the terrorists who deliberately embed themselves within civilian populations,” he added.
Security experts have urged the military to adopt more precise targeting measures.
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