Speaker 1: Residents in Zamfara State, one of the troubled states in
Speaker 1: Nigeria with frequent attacks on the locals by bandits, have
Speaker 1: reported that not less than twenty vigilantes were killed apparently
Speaker 1: in error by the Nigerian Air Force fighter jet on Saturday,
Speaker 1: when a group of vigilante members gave a chase to
Speaker 1: invading bandits who killed and abducted a lot of persons,
Speaker 1: most especially farmers at Garranmani, Mariah and Wabi villages in
Speaker 1: Maru local Government area of Zamfara State. This an apparent
Speaker 1: military insider. News media Zagazila, in its publication titled air
Speaker 1: strike in Zamfara kills over twenty bandits but claims vigilante
Speaker 1: casualties released on Monday, claimed that only five vigilante members
Speaker 1: were killed because the victims failed to follow operational guidelines
Speaker 1: of military joint operations. Specifically, the probably pro government and
Speaker 1: military news media stated that when the vigilantes were given
Speaker 1: signal to retreat, they failed to do so. Adding to
Speaker 1: the Zagazola media, the Nigerian Army has confirmed that over
Speaker 1: twenty bandits were neutralized during a coordinated air interdiction operation
Speaker 1: in Mariah and Wabi villages of Maru Local Government Area
Speaker 1: of Zamfara State, while four members of a local vigilante
Speaker 1: group were also affected in the attack. Zagazola Makama gathered
Speaker 1: from reliably sources that the air strike, which occurred on
Speaker 1: Saturday May thirty first, was followed by a grand exploitation
Speaker 1: mission on Saturday by troops of one Brigade, Operation FANS
Speaker 1: and YAMMA to assess the impact and conduct clearance operations
Speaker 1: in the area. The sources said that the interdiction inflicted
Speaker 1: significant losses on the terrorists, including the destruction of their
Speaker 1: motorcycles and equipment. During the exploitation on June first, it
Speaker 1: was confirmed that over twenty bandits were neutralized and several
Speaker 1: motorcycles destroyed, the source stated. However, the source also confirmed
Speaker 1: that some number of vigilanti personnel were mistakenly caught in
Speaker 1: the strike due to a failure to comply with withdrawal
Speaker 1: orders issued ahead of the operation. Unfortunately, five vigilante members
Speaker 1: were killed, while two others sustained injuries and are currently
Speaker 1: receiving treatment in the hospital. A few others sustained minor
Speaker 1: injuries and did not require hospitalization. The source added. According
Speaker 1: to field reports, the leader of the vigilante group has
Speaker 1: accepted full responsibility for the casualties suffered by his men,
Speaker 1: stating that they disregarded earlier instructions to withdraw from the
Speaker 1: outskirts of the village ahead of the air strike. He
Speaker 1: admitted that despite being informed of the imminent air operation,
Speaker 1: some of the vigilante youths insisted on pursuing the fleeing
Speaker 1: bandits and were still within the target area when the
Speaker 1: aircraft struck. The military source said Zagazila learned that the
Speaker 1: interdiction was part of intensified counter terrorism efforts by troops
Speaker 1: under Operation Hadder and Dargy to degrade the operational capacity
Speaker 1: of armed groups terrorizing commit unities across Zamfara and neighboring states.
Speaker 1: The sources said that the military has consistently warned local
Speaker 1: security outfits and civilian volunteers to adhere strictly to operational
Speaker 1: guidelines and instructions during joint operations to prevent unintended casualties.
Speaker 1: The latest operation comes amid renewed efforts by the Nigerian
Speaker 1: armed forces to stabilize rural areas ahead of the farming
Speaker 1: season and restore civil authority in volatile communities across the
Speaker 1: northwest Sahara. Reporters also reported that the Nigerian military fighter
Speaker 1: jet has mistakenly struck and killed about twenty men of
Speaker 1: a vigilante group during an operation targeting bandits in Garonmani,
Speaker 1: a village in the Maru local government area of Zamfara State.
Speaker 1: The tragic incident occurred after armed bandits attacked the village,
Speaker 1: killing several residents and abducting over fifty others, mostly farmers
Speaker 1: who were working on their fields. Eyewitnesses said the attackers
Speaker 1: stormed the area on motorcycles around noon, shooting indiscriminately and
Speaker 1: causing widespread panic. In response, local vigilante groups mobilized and
Speaker 1: began chasing the fleeing assailants. However, a military aircraft deployed
Speaker 1: to the scene allegedly misidentified the vigilantes as bandits and
Speaker 1: launched air strikes on them. We were pursuing the bandits
Speaker 1: when we saw the fighter jet approaching, one of the
Speaker 1: vigilantes told B. B. C. Hauser. It flew very low
Speaker 1: and started bombing us. Some of us survived by pretending
Speaker 1: we had been hit. When the jet left, we got
Speaker 1: up and fled to safety. Another resident, who spoke on
Speaker 1: condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident and expressed disappointment over
Speaker 1: the lack of communication from the military. We understand it
Speaker 1: was an unfortunate mistake, but the military should acknowledge what
Speaker 1: happened and reach out to the victim's families, he said.
Speaker 1: He also appealed to the government to deploy additional troops
Speaker 1: to the area as the bandits had threatened to return.
Speaker 1: This is not the first time such an incident has occurred.
Speaker 1: In January, an air strike mistakenly killed sixteen people, including vigilantes,
Speaker 1: in Tungakara, also in Zamfara. Similarly, in December last year,
Speaker 1: ten residents of Gidden Visser and Sokto's state were killed
Speaker 1: in a misdirected air strike. As of the time of
Speaker 1: filing this report, the Nigerian military has yet to issue
Speaker 1: an official statement on the latest incident. Sahar Air Reporters
Speaker 1: news report ends in quotes Abu Bakar Lawell, a Facebook user, said,
Speaker 1: you know what happened in Zamfara. If not, then let
Speaker 1: me tell you. Bandits attacked a village in Maru and
Speaker 1: abducted fifty people. Hearing this, the vigilantes went to rescue
Speaker 1: the people who were kidnapped, but the Nigerian Air Force
Speaker 1: had another plan. They mistakenly bombed the vigilantes, resulting in
Speaker 1: the death of twenty of them and many feared injured.
Speaker 1: Now I have a quest since this is the second
Speaker 1: time this is happening. The Nigeria Air Force cannot differentiate
Speaker 1: between bandits or vigilantes or is there anything they are
Speaker 1: not telling us. Another Facebook user, god Eyed Junior, also
Speaker 1: said that I don't see this as a mistake anymore.
Speaker 1: This is the fifth time in less than three years.
Speaker 1: I think how many more mistakes will they make before
Speaker 1: they learn and nobody will be punished. To take cover
Speaker 1: when you see military jetsu, because anything can happen. Lady
Speaker 1: bringing you bring me in a mortgage way.