A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) airstrike reportedly hit a mosque in the Jika da Kolo community in Yadin Kidandan, Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State by mistake, killing at least 23 worshippers and two other persons near a market.
The tragic incident occurred over the weekend, leading to an altercation between the community and the military.
The military intended to strike terrorists alleged to be in the area. The NAF asserts that the operation targeted a terrorist enclave in the Yadi Forest area and disputes local accounts of civilian casualties.
Group Captain Kabiru Ali, Deputy Director of Public Relations and Information, insists the target was a terrorist logistics base. He said there was no mosque in the area, based on pre-and post-operation pictorial evidence.
Ali explained that the operation was based on credible intelligence that established the presence of terrorists in the area and that scores of them were eliminated by the strike.
Eyewitnesses Dispute Military Account
But Abdullahi Ismail, a councilor representing the area, suggested the victims were common villagers. “We gathered body parts of 23 people who were identified by relatives, including children.”
Another eyewitness told journalists, “It was a crowded place because there was a local market close to the mosque which was also affected. The incident happened around 2 pm. Many people were killed, among them farmers and children who had gathered around the mosque.”
“Family members of the victims went to the scene and recognized their relatives for the funeral. With little investigation, those who threw the bomb should have established that the bandits don’t live within the villages; they are in the bushes.“
The villagers have called on the Federal and Kaduna State governments to investigate the incident, stating that they remain in the area because they have no other place to go.
It is not the first time the Nigeria Air Force has struck targets that later were reported to be civilians. At least in December 2023, a Nigerian Air Force jet reportedly bombed Tudun Biri, a community within the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State killing about 30 villagers according to reports.
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