The Sokoto State government has disputed Nigeria’s military denial of civilian casualty, saying no fewer than 10 people were killed in the military air strike in Gidan Bisa village, Silame LGA of the state.
However, Olusola Akinboyewa, spokesperson for the Nigerian Air Force insist the missiles were launched following credible intelligence from multiple sources and confirmatory aerial surveillance.
Amid the denial, Abubakar Bawa, press secretary to Ahmed Aliyu, governor of the state said in a statement on Wednesday that the Christmas Day bombing targeting terrorist recorded civilian casualties.
Bawa who quoted Abubakar Rana, chairman of Silame LGA, added that the incident occurred around 6am on Christmas Day, when two military fighter jets “mistakenly” dropped bombs on the village.
Gov Aliyu, who was accompanied by Aliyu Wamakko, leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state; and Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, minister of labour and employment; attended the funeral prayers for the victims.
Consoling the villagers, the governor described the incident as “unfortunate”.
“The military jets were on their mission to eliminate criminal armed groups terrorising the state and mistakenly bombed innocent people of this community,” he said.
“We consider this a mistake because the same military had on several occasions successfully raided many criminal hideouts in the state.”
Aliyu prayed for Allah’s forgiveness for the deceased and strength for their families.
Muhammad Sifawa, secretary to the state government, announced a relief package of N20 million and 100 bags of assorted foodstuffs for the families of the deceased.
He also assured that the state government would cover the medical bills of the injured.
The military had denied reports of civilian casualties in the bombing.
Reports said air strikes conducted by the air component of Operation Hadarin Daji, targeting the Lakurawa terrorist group, had inadvertently killed civilians in the Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa communities.
However, Abubakar Abdullahi, joint media coordinator for the operation, said the strikes targeted locations confirmed to be linked to the insurgents.
“All military operations are based on thorough intelligence and reconnaissance missions to ensure precision and protect civilian lives,” Abdullahi said.
“The targets struck in the vicinity of Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa were positively identified as associated with the Lakurawa group, reinforcing the justification for the military action.”
