A military airstrike hit two villages in Sokoto on Wednesday and claimed the lives of 10 civilians, locals and community leaders said.
Residents said the incident, which occurred around 7am at Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa communities in Silame Local Government Area, also left many other people injured.
Animals were also reportedly killed, with residents saying some of their houses were destroyed by the impact of the airstrikes.
The locals said the fighter jet was targeting Lakurawa terrorists in the areas, but in the process, dropped explosives on some innocent people.
However, the military, in a statement yesterday said the airstrike was carefully organised and the real culprits targeted.
A resident of one of the affected communities in Sokoto, who gave his name as Malam Yahya, told our correspondent yesterday that the two villages were located close to Surame forest which had been identified as a hideout of Lakurawa terrorists and bandits.
Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State, who visited the villages where the incidents happened, condoled with the victims of the airstrike.
He promised to set up a committee to investigate the incident in order to avert future reoccurrence.
“I visited the families of the victims…I am devastated,” the governor said in Hausa.
“It wasn’t a deliberate act by the security operatives. They were actually targeting the invading terrorists. They succeeded in neutralising them during the first and the second attempts of the operation. It was the third operation that went awry.
“And as Muslims, we should accept what happened in good faith. I participated in the funeral prayers for the deceased; may their souls rest in peace,” the governor said.
Governor Aliyu also donated N20 million and 100 bags of grains to the families of the victims.
Earlier, the chairman of Silame Local Government Area (LGA), Abubakar Muhammad Daftarana, said authorities were still assessing the level of damage caused by the airstrike.
“The villagers were sitting peacefully when the bombs started dropping on the communities. They were innocent and peace-loving people who had no any criminal record.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, Ahmad Rufa’i, declined comment on the incident, saying it was not their operation.
They’ve links with Lakurawa – Military
Reacting to the bombing of Sokoto communities, the military insisted that those killed in the airstrike had links with the notorious terrorists’ group, Lakurawa.
The military, through one of its operations codenamed “Operation Fansan Yamma” under the Joint Task Force North West, admitted that it carried out the airstrike.
Coordinator, Joint Media Coordination Centre of the Operation, Abubakar Abdullahi, a Lieutenant-Colonel, explained that military operations are conducted based on thorough intelligence and reconnaissance missions.
According to him, the rigorous process was particularly important when targeting groups like the Lakurawa terrorist organization, saying it aimed at ensuring precision and protect civilian lives.
The senior military officer appealed to Nigerians to rely on confirmed information to prevent misinformation and unnecessary panic owing to the serious nature of the operations.
He said: “There is a significant risk that terrorist groups may attempt to undermine military successes through media disinformation, necessitating caution concerning unverified claims, especially in the ongoing fight against terrorism and banditry.
“Importantly, the targets struck in the vicinity of Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa have been positively identified as associated with the Lakurawa group, reinforcing the justification for the military action taken,” he said.
Daily Trust reports that yesterday’s incident in Sokoto has taken the number of Nigerians killed in accidental aircraft or drone bombings at various villages in the North in the last 10 years to 450.
Earlier on September 27, 2024, at least 23 persons were reportedly killed in a military airstrike at Jika da Kolo village in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
But months after, the operation and the motive behind it have remained contentious.
At the time of the incident, one of the community leaders, who pleaded for anonymity for fear of his safety, and who also participated in the funeral rites, said: “We gathered body parts of 23 people who were identified by relatives including children and they have been buried.
“Of course, Yadin Kidandan is a danger zone because it is under the control of bandits. But there are also innocent villagers who still live around there because they have no other place to go just like the casualties that we witnessed on Friday.
“It was a crowded place because there was a local market close to the mosque which was also affected…”
However, while reacting at the time, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said the community was not telling the truth.
The Deputy Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Group Captain Kabiru Ali, told Daily Trust at the time that the airstrikes were only rained on the logistics base of terrorists.
Ali, who said there was no mosque in the area, shared with Daily Trust, pictorial evidence of how the location was before and after the operation.
He said the operation was carried out following credible intelligence indicating a huge presence of terrorists and their weapons cache in the Yadi Forest.
He said reports from independent sources, including local informants around the general area, confirmed that the logistics base was totally destroyed and scores of terrorists were killed as a result of the attack.
Past incidents
A data compiled by Daily Trust showed that 10 persons died at Kayamla village of Borno State on March 16, 2014 when airstrikes targeting terrorists turned awry.
Fifty three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were reportedly killed and many others injured by military airstrikes on January 17, 2027 at Rann camp, also in Borno State.
On February 28, 2018, twenty persons died in an airstrike by the military at Daglun village in Borno State.
The data also showed that 11 civilians were killed by a military airstrike at Ajia village in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara State on April 11, 2019.
On July 2, 2019, an airstrike that occurred at Gajigana in Borno State killed 13 villagers.
On April 25, 2021, thirty soldiers were reportedly killed by airstrikes from the troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF)
Nine farmers lost their lives at Buwari village in Yobe State on September 16, 2021 in an airstrike by troops targeting terrorists.
The data also revealed that 20 fishermen died in a similar incident at Kwatar Daban Masara in Borno State on September 26, 2021.
Six children were reportedly killed in a military airstrike that occurred at Kuragba, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State on April 20, 2022.
On July 6, 2022 a similar aircraft killed two persons at Kunkunni village, Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State.
On December 17, 2022, no fewer than 60 villagers died in a military airstrike at Mutunji community, Dansadau Emirate in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The data further revealed that on January 24, 2023, 18 persons died in an airstrike by troops at Galkogo, Shiroro LGA of Niger State.
Another airstrike also reportedly claimed 40 lives at Rukubi village in Doma LGA of Nasarawa State on January 25, 2023. The military high command later issued a statement insisting that those killed were terrorists.
On March 3, 2023, three persons lost their lives to a military airstrike at Sabon Gida village, Fatika district Giwa of Kaduna State.
In August 2023, woman was also reportedly killed in an airstrike that happed at Kwaki community in Shiroro LGA of Niger State.
On Sunday, December 3, 2023, an accidental military airstrike killed over 100 civilians and injured many others who converged on Tundun Biri, Kaduna State, for Maulud celebration.
2 killed by suicide bomber in Borno; 6 soldiers injured in drone attack
Boko Haram terrorists on Tuesday launched drone attacks on a military base and injured six soldiers in Wajiroko, Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.
The attack happened hours before the Chief of Army Staff arrived in Maiduguri to celebrate Christmas with frontline troops in the state.
Daily Trust gathered that the incident on the forward operating base happened around 11:00pm, but the troops were said to subdue the attacks and forced the terrorists to withdraw.
A source from the military base said the terrorists, in their large numbers, stormed their location and started shooting.
“We faced the terrorists’ ground, using superior firearms and finally subdued them, but few of our soldiers got injured,” he said.
He said the injured soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital after their conditions had been stabilized by medics on the ground.
“The situation is now calm but highly unpredictable but our morale is not affected by the incident,” he added.
In a related development, a suicide bomber, who disguised as sympathiser, detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that killed two mourners and injured other person in Dalori town, few kilometres from Borno State Capital, yesterday.
“The bomber strapped his body with the IEDs and pretended to be a mourner that came to sympathise with the family.
“He detonated the bomb, killing 2 and injuring one other person,” a local security source revealed.