---
title: "Nigeria's air force investigates civilian deaths after air strike"
description: "MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Nigeria's air force said it was investigating reports of civilian casualties during a weekend air strike that targeted armed gangs in the northwest, the latest military operation where innocent people may have been accidentally killed."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Air strike"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-13-nigerias-air-force-investigates-civilian-deaths-after-air-strike/"
published: "2025-01-13T12:32:44"
updated: "2025-01-13T12:32:46"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 200
---

# Nigeria's air force investigates civilian deaths after air strike

> MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Nigeria's air force said it was investigating reports of civilian casualties during a weekend air strike that targeted armed gangs in the northwest, the latest military operation where innocent people may have been accidentally killed.

By Reuters · Published 13 January 2025, 14:32 SAST · Updated 13 January 2025, 14:32 SAST

## Key points
- In a tragic twist of irony, Nigeria's air force aimed for bandits in Zamfara but instead managed to hit a civilian bullseye, leaving officials scrambling to explain how a rescue mission turned into a deadly misfire.
- Nigerian military intensifies aerial assaults against armed criminal gangs, known as bandits, amid rising violence in the northwest.
- A recent air strike in Zamfara state aimed at bandits reportedly resulted in the deaths of at least 15 civilians, including security guards.
- Air Force spokesperson vows to investigate the incident, acknowledging past civilian casualties during military operations.
- Chief of Defence Staff asserts that targeting civilians is unintentional and pledges a thorough investigation into the Zamfara strike.

## Content

The army and air force have increasingly used aerial assaults against the growing threat in the northwest and central region posed by armed criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, that kill villagers and carry out mass kidnappings.

Nigerian Air Force (NAF) spokesperson Air Vice Marshal Olusola Akinboyewa said late on Sunday an air strike in northwestern Zamfara state on Saturday had targeted bandits, and that the air force had managed to rescue kidnapped victims.

But residents told Reuters that at least 15 civilians, including local security guards, were killed.

An investigation into the matter was being conducted, Akinboyewa said in a statement.

Air strikes have inadvertently killed civilians before. In December, at least [10 people were killed](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3NR0AC&linkedFromStory=true) after a military fighter jet pursuing bandits mistakenly bombed civilians in northwestern Sokoto state.

Akinboyewa said the NAF would work to minimise and prevent any harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure in its operations.

Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa told local television on Monday that the military did not intentionally target civilians and that the Zamfara incident would be fully investigated.

(Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri and Camilus Eboh in Abuja, Writing by Ope Adetayo, Editing by Bernadette Baum)