The latest incident that happened in a local market in Jilli, a town between Yobe and Borno, that led to the death of at least 2...
The latest incident that happened in a local market in Jilli, a town between Yobe and Borno, that led to the death of at least 200 civilians, has brought us back to the discourse of the Armed Forces of Nigeria’s “accidental bombings” in northern Nigeria.
I have written about and documented two similar civilian bombings in Nigeria. First in Rukubi, a town that borders Nasarawa and Benue State in north-central Nigeria. Second, I interviewed residents who gave eyewitness accounts of the bombing that happened in Tudun Biri, in Kaduna State, northwestern Nigeria.
According to SBM Intelligence, since 2017, the Nigerian soldiers who are paid with taxpayers’ money to protect the civilians have killed at least 400 innocent people in these “accidental bombings” that have been repeatedly carried out. Personally, I believe the 473 civilians.
As a journalist who used to cover conflict, it is safe to say that these repeated “accidental bombings” have become inexcusable, as they have an exact pattern. When they first occurred, the Armed Forces kept mum for a while, but after pressure and condemnation, they then admitted that it had happened. They will not visit these communities; even if they visit, it is for photo ops. No officer will be sanctioned. And, even civilians who try to hold them to account will be threatened.
These attacks never happen in other places but in the Muslim-dominated northern region. In these regions, it is either in villages, internally displaced people’s camps, markets, religious gatherings, or other public spaces.
It is not a Nigerian thing. That was what the United States did in Somalia when it killed 22-year-old Luul Mohammed with her four-year-old daughter in a drone attack. The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) kept silent, as it did in other drone attacks that killed civilians in its campaign it carried out in the last 20 years in the East African country. Although the US admitted to carrying out these attacks on civilians, no compensation to the families of the victims.
The pattern is the same as in Nigeria, and in other countries, we have seen the presence of the US. It is a playbook. No acknowledgement. No compensation. No avoidance of future occurrences. I hope we are not on the road to Somalia.
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