A tragic friendly-fire incident has claimed the lives of approximately 20 vigilante group members in Garin Mani village, Maru Local Government Area, Zamfara State. The fatalities occurred when a Nigerian military fighter jet mistakenly launched airstrikes on the vigilantes during an operation targeting armed bandits.
Earlier on Monday, armed bandits launched a brutal attack on Garin Mani village. Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants arrived on motorcycles around midday, indiscriminately shooting and causing chaos. Several residents were killed, and over 50 people, mostly farmers working in their fields, were abducted.
In response, local vigilante groups mobilized quickly to pursue the fleeing bandits. However, during the pursuit, a Nigerian military jet deployed to the area misidentified the vigilantes as hostile forces and carried out airstrikes against them.
One of the surviving vigilantes recounted the harrowing experience to BBC Hausa:
“We were chasing the bandits when the fighter jet suddenly appeared, flying very low. It started bombing us. Some of us survived by pretending to be hit. When the jet left, we got up and fled to safety.”
Residents expressed deep disappointment over the incident and the military’s silence. A local source, speaking on condition of anonymity, urged the military to acknowledge the mistake and reach out to the families of the victims. He also called on the government to deploy more troops to the area, warning that bandits had threatened to return.
“We understand it was an unfortunate error, but the military must take responsibility and support the affected families,” he said.
This is not the first time such a tragic error has occurred in Zamfara State. In January 2025, a similar airstrike mistakenly killed 16 people, including vigilantes, in Tungar Kara. In December 2024, 10 residents of Gidan Bisa in Sokoto State lost their lives due to a misdirected airstrike.
As of the time of this report, the Nigerian military has not issued an official statement regarding the latest incident.
