Nigerian Air Strike on Jilli Market Kills Dozens, Sparks Outrage

A Nigerian military air strike on a crowded weekly market in north-eastern Nigeria has left at least 100 people dead and dozens more wounded, triggering sharp condemnation from human rights groups and raising urgent questions about the conduct of military operations in a region already devastated by more than a decade of Islamist insurgency.

The strike hit Jilli village market, situated near the border between Yobe and Borno states, on a Saturday when the market — a weekly gathering that draws traders and buyers from surrounding communities — was in full operation. Injured victims were transported to hospitals in Geidam and Maiduguri, with at least 23 people receiving treatment at Geidam General Hospital in Yobe state alone.

Casualty figures vary significantly depending on the source. Amnesty International reported more than 100 people killed and 35 wounded, describing the strike as unlawful, outrageous, and a reckless use of deadly force. Lawan Zanna Nur Geidam, a local chief and councillor from Yobe’s Geidam district, put the combined toll of dead and injured at approximately 200. An eyewitness account placed the death count at a minimum of 56, with 14 others hospitalised. Other local accounts cited figures as low as 10 fatalities.

Ahmed Ali, a 43-year-old market trader, was among those injured in the blast. Attendees at the market included residents from both Geidam local government area in Yobe state and Gubio local government area in Borno state, reflecting the cross-border character of the weekly gathering.

The Nigerian Air Force confirmed it had conducted air strikes on Saturday against identified terrorist locations within the Jilli axis of Borno State, stating that Boko Haram fighters had been killed. Its statement made no reference to a market being struck and neither confirmed nor denied civilian casualties. The Yobe state government, however, acknowledged that the strike was conducted near a market that people were attending at the time. Brigadier General Dahiru Abdulsalam, military adviser to the Yobe state government, confirmed that residents from Geidam who had travelled to the Jilli weekly market were among those affected.

The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) activated emergency response mechanisms after receiving preliminary reports of an incident at Jilli Market in the Gubio local government area. The agency confirmed casualties among marketers and deployed assessment teams to the scene.

Amnesty International’s Nigeria branch issued a forceful condemnation, calling the strike a violation of international humanitarian law and demanding an immediate, impartial investigation by Nigerian authorities. The organisation also called for those responsible to be held to account.

"This is not the first time civilians in north-eastern Nigeria have paid with their lives for military operations gone wrong," the rights group said in substance, pointing to a pattern of incidents in which air operations have mistakenly struck villages, camps for internally displaced people, and markets.

The strike occurred in the heart of the Boko Haram insurgency zone, a conflict that has raged for more than a decade across north-eastern Nigeria. The rebellion has killed thousands of people and forced more than two million from their homes, creating one of West Africa’s most severe humanitarian crises. The Nigerian military has been engaged in sustained operations against Boko Haram and its splinter factions across Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, but those operations have repeatedly drawn scrutiny over civilian harm.

Previous incidents in the region include air strikes that struck displacement camps and civilian settlements, with human rights organisations documenting a troubling record of accountability failures in the aftermath. The Jilli market strike, if confirmed at the scale described by Amnesty International and local officials, would rank among the deadliest such incidents in recent years.

Nigerian authorities have not announced any formal inquiry into the strike. Pressure is mounting, however, for a transparent investigation as the scale of civilian casualties becomes clearer and international attention focuses on the conduct of counter-insurgency operations in one of Africa’s most volatile conflict zones.