KEY POINTS

• A Jilli community resident says he lost six brothers in the April 11 airstrike and that over 100 recovered bodies have been buried.
• The Defence Minister insists no innocent person was present, while the Borno government says anyone still using the closed market was a Boko Haram collaborator.
• The Nigerian Air Force has activated its civilian harm investigation cell to establish the facts on the ground.

More than 100 bodies have been recovered and buried following the April 11 airstrike on Jilli Market along the Borno-Yobe border, according to a community member who said six of his own brothers were among the dead.

Mallam Abatcha Gubio, a resident of the Jilli community, gave the first detailed personal account of the human toll from the Nigerian Air Force strike, which the government insists targeted a known insurgent logistics hub. His account directly contradicts the official position that no innocent civilians were present.

“My brothers who died after the airstrike on the market were Abatcha Ali, Modu Moruma, Mohammed Moruma, Shehuri Modu, Bukar Sugum and Ali Chellu. We have succeeded in burying over 100 dead bodies so far recovered in the market,” Gubio said.

Why the market was still open

The Borno State Government had shut the market down five years ago, citing its use as a logistics hub for insurgents. But Gubio said the closure never fully took hold, because the market filled a void that nothing else did.

“Yes it was in 2022, after a security meeting, that the market was partially closed down. But people from Benesheikh, Geidam, Gubio, and other surrounding settlements kept on patronizing the Jilli Market because of its strategic importance, as there were no markets around,” he said.

He described Jilli as a legally established settlement with civic authority, including a village head, Islamic scholars and traditional rulers. The market, he said, drew traders from Maiduguri, Damasak, Geidam and even Niger Republic, particularly for livestock.

“At Jilli Market, domestic animals such as goats, sheep, cows and camels are very cheap compared to other markets,” he said.

He acknowledged that members of Boko Haram would come to the market from Bulabulin enclaves near Damasak to conduct their own business, but said that did not make all traders and buyers complicit.

No innocent person there, minister insists

Minister of Defence Gen. Christopher Musa offered no ground on the government’s position. Speaking on Arise TV, he said the strike was based on credible intelligence and targeted a location the military had long identified as a terrorist supply and levy-collection point.

“There was no innocent person there. Anybody in that location knew what they were doing. They were there for business with terrorists,” Musa said.

The Borno State Government backed that position. Governor Babagana Zulum’s office said anyone still patronizing the Jilli Market after its closure was automatically a Boko Haram sponsor or collaborator.

What the air force found

The Nigerian Air Force launched its Civilian Harm Accident and Investigation Cell immediately after reports of civilian casualties emerged. Sources said the fighter jet that carried out the strike was tracking a group of suspected insurgents believed to have visited the market to collect levies and obtain supplies.

A 15-year-old ISWAP courier named Tijjani was later arrested in nearby Ngamdu and said he had been moving funds and logistics between Jilli and other insurgent locations.

The Bindul-Jilli corridor had already produced casualties on both sides. An IED attack on troops along the route in January, and the coordinated assault on Benishiekh and Ngamdu on April 9, were both linked to operations traceable to that axis.

A former army chief weighs in

Retired Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, a former chief of army staff, described the strike as a necessary military action but acknowledged the pain of the outcome.

“Jilli market has a long history as a terrorist logistics hub in spite of repeated military raids and closures over the years,” he said. “No military wishes to harm civilians, but when such locations are persistently used by terrorists, action becomes necessary.”

He urged residents of Geidam, Gubio, Damasak and Ngamdu to stop trading in markets linked to insurgent activity, warning that communities continuing such interactions risk exposure to future military operations.