At least 16 Nigerians were killed while several others got severely injured after the military strike mistakenly targeted civilians.
According to BBC, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) strike targeting criminal gangs killed 16 members of local vigilante groups and civilians by “mistake” on Monday, January 13, 2025, in northwestern Zamfara State.
The AFP news agency quoted Sa'idu Ibrahim saying that the villagers “recovered 16 bodies from the attacks and took several other people with severe injuries to the hospital.”
The residents told the local media that the victims were civilians and were defending themselves from armed gangs known for kidnapping people and demanding money in exchange.
The NAF admitted that it was conducting airstrikes that dealt "a decisive blow to bandits terrorising villages in the area."
NAF stated, “While the operation successfully eliminated several bandits and led to the recovery of some kidnap victims, the NAF views with grave concern reports of the loss of civilian lives in the course of the operation.”
It further said that it was investigating "reports of vigilante losses” and would discover the truth behind the matter.
Moreover, the rights group Amnesty International Nigeria claimed that 20 people died and dozens of others were injured in the attack on Tunga Kara village.
The statement added, “Launching air raids is not a legitimate law enforcement method by anyone's standard. Such reckless use of deadly force is unlawful and outrageous and lays bare the Nigerian military's shocking disregard for the lives of those it supposedly exists to protect.”
The rights group has also called on authorities to investigate the incident "immediately and impartially."
