No fewer than 20 members of the Zamfara vigilante group have been reported killed after the Nigerian Air Force attacked men who were being misidentified as bandits.
As gathered, the airstrike occurred occurred shortly after the armed bandits fled from a community within the axis after attacking residents in the state.
The attackers, who stormed the village on motorcycles around midday, it was learnt on Monday shot indiscriminately, killing several residents and abducting more than 50 people who were working on nearby farms.
In the wake of the attack, local vigilante members quickly mobilized and began pursuing the fleeing gunmen. However, during the pursuit, tragedy struck when a military jet deployed in the same area to counter the bandit threat mistakenly targeted the vigilantes.
One of the survivors, who recounted in an interview with newsmen, narrated that they were trailing the gunmen when the airforce jet arrived and shot at the vigilantes.
“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”, he added.
Another resident, of Garin Mani, Maru Local Government Area, Zamfara were the incident occurred who requested anonymity, confirmed the airstrike and said it was clearly 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 called on the government to send more troops to the region, noting that the bandits had vowed to return and continue their assault on local communities.
