The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, says it has launched an investigation into alleged civilian casualties following an air strike in Jilli, Borno. In a statement on Sunday, spokesman, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the incident was reported to have occurred on Saturday.
Ejodame said reports suggested the strike might have hit a local market in Jilli, raising concerns about civilian casualties. The Chief of the Air Staff had ordered the immediate activation of the Civilian Harm Accident and Investigation Cell.
According to him, the cell has been deployed to the location on a fact-finding mission into the allegations.
“The Nigerian Air Force treats all reports of possible civilian harm with the utmost seriousness and empathy. “The protection of innocent lives remains central to all NAF operations,” he said.
Ejodame said the service remained committed to professionalism, accountability and transparency in its missions. That the force would work with authorities and community representatives to establish the facts.
While the investigation continues, he urged the public and media to avoid speculation and allow due process.
“The Nigerian Air Force reassures citizens of its resolve to protect national security and civilian lives.
“Every credible concern will be addressed with diligence and seriousness,” he said.
In another development, the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai, OPHK, has neutralised scores of terrorists and destroyed their operational assets in Jilli, Gubio Local Government Area of Borno.
Lt.-Col. Sani Uba, the Media Information Officer at the Headquarters of the Joint Task Force, Northeast, Operation Hadin Kai, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Maiduguri.
Uba said that the airstrike had successfully hit a major Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, logistics hub.
Also Read: NAF disrupts terrorists movement in Borno State
The media information officer stated that the operation was conducted on Saturday, following a sustained Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, ISR, mission over the Bindul–Jilli axis.
According to him, Bindul-Jilli is a major terrorist movement corridor and convergence point for insurgents and their collaborators.
“On 11 April 2026, multiple reports were received of ISWAP gun trucks and motorcycles moving along the axis. Consequently, ISR coverage was intensified.
“During the surveillance mission, a contingent of motorcycles was observed moving in the direction of Jilli, followed shortly by additional vehicles, all converging on the same location,” he said.
Uba said that the movements were corroborated by credible human intelligence sources, confirming that the converging elements were terrorists, collaborators and logistics handlers.
The media information officer said that after rigorous target validation, the Air Component executed a series of precision strikes on the enclave, achieving high accuracy.
“Post-strike assessment confirmed that the target area was struck with high accuracy, destroying the identified terrorist logistics enclave.
“Scores of terrorists were neutralised in the strike, with their vehicles and technicals destroyed, while surviving elements were observed fleeing in multiple directions,” he said.
Uba added that intelligence indicated the neutralised elements were in the final stages of receiving logistics supplies for coordinated attacks on troop locations within the Gubio axis before the strike disrupted their plans.
The media information officer recalled that the Bindul–Jilli corridor had been linked to previous attacks, including a January Improvised Explosive Device, IED, incident along the Gubio–Damasak road which claimed the lives of eight soldiers, as well as coordinated attacks in Ngamdu and Benisheik on April 9.
He further disclosed that on April 12, troops arrested a suspected ISWAP logistics courier identified as “Turja Bulu” in Ngamdu.
“Upon preliminary investigation, he confessed to taking part in the attack on the 29 Brigade location at Benisheik and was dispatched from Jilli to deliver food items to another group of terrorists hibernating within the Magumeri–Gubio general area,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, said it conducted follow-up mop-up airstrikes on fleeing insurgents and regrouping elements within the Jilli axis to consolidate gains from the initial operation.
In a statement, the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said that the action underscored the effectiveness of intelligence-driven joint operations.
“The mission was conducted as part of a coordinated air-ground integration operation with the Nigerian Army, following an earlier successful engagement that effectively decimated terrorist positions in the area.
“The follow-on strikes were aimed at fleeing remnants and regrouping cells seeking to exploit the difficult terrain,” Ejodame said.
He added that the sustained strikes were part of ongoing efforts to deny terrorists freedom of movement, prevent attacks on security forces and protect civilian populations.
Also, the Yobe Government further clarified reports alleging that residents of the Geidam council area were directly targeted in the airstrike.
In a statement by the Special Adviser on Security Matters to the Gov. Mai Mala Buni, Brig.-Gen. Dahiru Abdulsalam, rtd, the government said the operation was conducted on a known Boko Haram stronghold in Jilli, Gubio council area of Borno.
He said that some residents of Geidam, which borders the area, had visited the Jilli weekly market and were affected by the strike. “They have been evacuated to Geidam Specialist Hospital and are responding to treatment,” Abdulsalam said.
He reiterated that Jilli remained an insurgent-controlled enclave with no legitimate civilian presence, describing it as a “no man’s land” used for logistics, coordination and staging of attacks.
Abdulsalam also restated that the use of motorcycles remains prohibited across the North-east operational theatre due to their continued use by terrorist elements.
He, however, assured residents of sustained operations to dismantle terrorist enclaves and restore lasting peace in the region.
NAN
