Investigations have commenced into a Nigerian Air Force strike at the Jilli market on the Borno-Yobe border, an area high-level officials maintain has been under a strict commercial ban for five years. While the military initially reported the mission as a precision strike against an insurgent logistics hub, emerging reports of significant civilian casualties have prompted a formal review of the operation.
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum addressed the incident on Monday, clarifying that the Jilli and Gazabure markets were officially shuttered in 2021. The Governor stated that these locations were identified as primary supply routes and revenue-collection points for Boko Haram and ISWAP militants. "These markets were closed five years ago because they served as a lifeline for terrorists," Zulum told reporters in Maiduguri. He emphasised that any trading at the site was unauthorised and conducted without the necessary military clearance required for reopened zones.
Despite the 2021 prohibition, survivors from the Geidam Local Government Area of Yobe State claimed that hundreds of people were present at the site during the April 11 strike. The likely presence of civilians at a site designated as a "terrorist enclave" has raised questions regarding the communication of exclusion zones to local populations.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has since activated its Civilian Harm Assessment and Information Cell to verify these casualty reports. Air Force spokesperson Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet confirmed the strike was "intelligence-led," targeting an area where insurgents were observed collecting levies. "The NAF remains committed to transparency and will investigate all reports of civilian harm resulting from our air operations," Gabkwet stated in an official release.
As the NAF investigation proceeds, calls for improved coordination between security forces and local communities have intensified to prevent future loss of life in restricted zones.