Nigeria has launched an independent investigation into an Air Force strike on a market in Jilli that officials say may have killed at least 200 people, while insisting the operation targeted Islamist militants in a known logistics hub. Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the strike hit "confirmed terrorist targets" and described the mission as intelligence-led. Rights groups warn strikes in contested areas risk civilian casualties, and the probe will review planning and execution amid a 17-year insurgency that has displaced millions.
Nigeria Launches Independent Probe After Deadly Jilli Airstrike, Defends Strike on Militants
FILE PHOTO: Nigeria's Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris Malagi, reacts during a press briefing at the inauguration of the Nigeria U.S. Joint Working Group to boost counterterrorism cooperation at the Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja, Nigeria, January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Marvellous Durowaiye/File Photo
ABUJA, April 15 (Reuters) - Nigeria has ordered a full, independent investigation into a military airstrike on a market in Jilli that authorities say may have left at least 200 people dead, while defending the operation as intended to hit Islamist militants sheltering in an insurgent-held enclave.
Government Defends Operation, Orders Inquiry
Information Minister Mohammed Idris expressed regret for civilian casualties but said the Air Force struck "confirmed terrorist targets" in Jilli village — a high-risk, no-go area in Gubio District. He described the action as a "deliberate, intelligence-led operation, not an indiscriminate attack," carried out in one of the "most active insurgent corridors in the northeast." The government said the inquiry will examine the planning and execution of the mission to establish the facts and any accountability.
Context And Rights Concerns
Saturday's strike is the latest in a string of military actions in northeast Nigeria that have caused heavy civilian casualties, highlighting how blurred the battlelines have become. Rights groups warn that when insurgents control territory, markets and supply routes, civilians often must pass through contested areas to survive — elevating the risk that strikes will kill bystanders.
Idris: "The Federal Government reiterates that this was a deliberate, intelligence-led operation, not an indiscriminate attack."
Local Dynamics
Authorities say Jilli — locally dubbed the "terrorists' market" — and the nearby Gazabure market were shut about five years ago after militants took control. Intelligence reportedly shows the area was used to collect levies, buy supplies and plan attacks, including assaults on April 9 in Ngamdu and Benisheikh that killed a general.
Longstanding Insurgency
Militants have waged a 17-year insurgency aiming to establish an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria. Aid groups say the conflict has killed thousands and displaced at least two million people despite repeated military campaigns.
(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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