Nigerian Military Airstrike on Yobe State Market Leaves at Least 100 Dead

Nigerian military aircraft struck a crowded weekly market in the Jilli area of Yobe State on Saturday, April 11, 2026, killing at least 100 people according to Amnesty International, with local officials fearing the death toll could reach 200. The strike, which witnesses said involved three fighter jets, hit a market near the border between Yobe and Borno states in northeastern Nigeria. The Nigerian Air Force confirmed it carried out strikes in the area but described them as precision operations against terrorist positions, making no mention of civilian casualties. The incident drew immediate condemnation from Amnesty International, which called for an independent investigation.

Military and witnesses offer sharply conflicting accounts The Nigerian Air Force spokesperson, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, described the operation as precision bombings conducted as part of a coordinated air-ground integration operation with Nigerian Army troops. Nigerian Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Sani Uba stated the strikes hit a terrorist enclave and logistics hub in what he described as an abandoned village near Jilli. Local authorities and human rights groups rejected that characterization entirely, saying the bombs fell on a busy weekly market that draws traders from as far away as Kano and Jigawa states in the northwest. Malam Lawan Zanna, a member of the local council, said the death toll had already surpassed 200 at the time he spoke, with bodies still being recovered from the site.

„The numbers are not certain because we are still retrieving bodies. But at the time I am speaking, over 200 people have lost their lives in the airstrike on the market.” — Malam Lawan Zanna via Reuters

Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said he had spoken directly with hospital staff and survivors to confirm the scale of the disaster.

„We have their photos and among the victims are also children.” — Isa Sanusi via AP

The Geidam General Hospital received at least 35 critically injured people following the attack, according to Amnesty International. A hospital employee, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to the media, told the Associated Press that at least 23 injured people were receiving treatment at the facility.

Market known to Boko Haram, intelligence cited as justification The large, remote market near the Yobe-Borno border is known to be frequented by Boko Haram fighters who buy food supplies there and, according to a Nigerian intelligence source cited by AFP, use it as a source of revenue by providing security and collecting taxes from traders. Abdulmumin Bulama, a member of a civilian task force working alongside the Nigerian military in the northeast, said intelligence indicated that Boko Haram fighters had gathered near the market ahead of a planned attack on nearby communities. The Yobe State government confirmed in a statement that the airstrike targeted a Boko Haram stronghold, but said only a few people attending the weekly market were affected — a claim contradicted by the casualty figures reported by witnesses and medical staff. Amnesty International stated this was not the first time the military had attempted to portray civilian victims as militants, and called on Nigerian authorities to conduct an immediate and impartial investigation and hold those responsible to account.

„Airstrikes do not constitute a legitimate method of law enforcement under any circumstances. This reckless use of lethal force is illegal, outrageous, and highlights the Nigerian Army's flagrant disregard for the lives of those it is supposedly meant to protect.” — Amnesty International via Deutsche Welle

Security analysts cited gaps in intelligence gathering and insufficient coordination between ground troops, air force units, and other stakeholders as recurring factors in such incidents. Political violence across Nigeria rose by more than 25 percent in March, according to Ladd Serwat, an analyst at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, a research group based in Madison, Wisconsin, with the most striking change being the intensity of battles in terms of both frequency and casualties.

Pattern of civilian deaths stretches back years, US troops now present Northeastern Nigeria has been gripped by a jihadist insurgency since Boko Haram began its campaign of violence in 2009. The conflict intensified from 2016 onward with the emergence of the Islamic State in West Africa Province, a Boko Haram splinter group. According to a count by the Associated Press, at least 500 civilians have died in Nigerian military airstrike misfires since 2017, with investigations into such incidents rarely producing publicly communicated results.

Saturday's strike fits a documented pattern of Nigerian military airstrikes that have killed civilians rather than militants, a problem that security analysts attribute to persistent shortcomings in intelligence and inter-service coordination. The United States and Nigeria have deepened military cooperation in recent months, with approximately 200 American troops deployed to Nigeria in February 2026 to conduct near-daily surveillance missions using MQ-9 Reaper drones to track militant movements. Around a dozen American intelligence analysts are also stationed at the Nigerian military headquarters in Abuja, helping Nigerian officials process drone and other intelligence data. The US State Department last week authorized voluntary departures of American government employees and their families from Nigeria, citing a deteriorating security situation, and advised American citizens against traveling to at least 23 Nigerian states covering nearly two-thirds of the country. The Nigerian government rejected that assessment as not reflecting the overall security situation in the country. The US and Nigerian forces had previously conducted joint airstrikes against jihadist positions in the northwest at the end of December 2025.

500 (civilians killed) — in Nigerian military airstrike misfires since 2017, per AP count

200 (US troops) — deployed to Nigeria in February 2026 for drone surveillance and intelligence support

Amnesty International (minimum): 100, Local council member Malam Lawan Zanna: 200, Yobe State government: few