Not less than twenty vigilantes have reportedly lost their lives during an airstrike from a military fighter jet in Zamfara State.
Naija News understands the military jet had mistaken the vigilantes for bandits who had earlier attacked residents in Garin Mani, a village in the Maru Local Government Area of the state.
According to reports, bandits had earlier attacked the village, killing many residents and abducting over fifty others who were working on their farms at the time of the attack.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants arrived on motorcycles around noon, opening fire indiscriminately and causing widespread panic.
In response, local vigilante groups mobilized and gave chase to the fleeing attackers.
However, in a devastating twist of events, a military aircraft, which was also deployed in pursuit of the criminals, mistakenly opened fire on the vigilantes after erroneously identifying them as bandits.
“We were pursuing the bandits when we saw the fighter jet approaching.
“It flew very low and started bombing us. Some of us survived by pretending we had been hit. When the jet left, we got up and fled to safety,” one of the vigilantes told BBC Hausa.
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was also quoted to have confirmed the attack and acknowledged that it was a case of mistaken identity.
“We understand it was an unfortunate mistake, but the military should acknowledge what happened and reach out to the victims’ families,” he said.
He also appealed to the government to deploy additional troops to the area, as the bandits had threatened to return.
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