On February 17, 2025, a tragic incident occurred in Katsina State, Nigeria, where a military jet mistakenly bombed a village, resulting in the deaths of at least six civilians. The airstrike took place in Zakka village, situated in the Safana district, following an attack by armed bandits on a nearby police base. This earlier assault claimed the lives of two policemen and a vigilante.
Residents reported that the military jet targeted a group of huts on the outskirts of the village. Muntari Sada, a local resident, recounted that the aircraft circled the area after the bandits had fled before dropping the bomb on a family’s cluster of huts. Tragically, six family members lost their lives in the explosion, and their remains were collected in bags for burial.
Two additional residents corroborated Sada's account, confirming the casualty figures. Amnesty International has since reported that the death toll may be as high as ten, urging for an “impartial, transparent, and immediate investigation” into the incident.
The Nigerian military has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the airstrike. For years, the country’s armed forces have been engaged in a battle against criminal gangs—often referred to as bandits—that wreak havoc in the northwest and central regions of Nigeria. These groups are notorious for raiding villages, abducting residents for ransom, and destroying homes.
This incident adds to a troubling pattern of deadly airstrikes in northern Nigeria. Just last month, an airstrike in Zamfara State mistakenly killed at least 16 people, targeting local vigilantes who were mistaken for criminal gangs. Previous incidents include a December 2023 airstrike that resulted in 10 deaths and injuries to six others, and another in the same month that tragically killed 85 people, mostly women and children, during a religious gathering.
One of the most devastating airstrike incidents occurred in January 2017, when a fighter jet mistakenly bombed a displacement camp near the Cameroon border, killing at least 112 people who were sheltering from ongoing jihadist violence.
As the situation evolves, calls for accountability and thorough investigation into these military operations continue to grow.
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