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On Saturday evening of April 11, 2026, Nigerian warplanes struck a location called Jilli, a dusty patch of borderland between Gubio in Borno and Geidam in Yobe State.
What exactly was on the ground that night is now the subject of fierce disagreement.
The military says it destroyed a terrorist logistics hub and killed scores of insurgents. Borno State’s governor says the area’s market had been closed for five years. Yobe State says civilians who went to a weekly market were affected. A local councillor says more than 200 people are dead.
All sides agree that an airstrike happened, but almost nothing else is settled. Here is what we know so far.
What the military says
The military confirmed that the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai carried out the airstrike on April 11 in the Jilli general area of Gubio Local Government Area in Borno State, according to Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, the media information officer for Operation Hadin Kai, who issued a statement on April 12.
The military described the operation as “carefully planned and intelligence-driven” and said it was a precision strike.
It said the strike targeted a “known terrorist enclave and logistics hub located near the abandoned village of Jilli.”
According to the military, surveillance aircraft had observed motorcycles and vehicles converging on the location.
Human intelligence sources, the military said, confirmed that the gathering consisted of terrorists, collaborators, and logistics handlers.
“Post-strike assessment confirmed that the target area was struck with high accuracy, resulting in the destruction of the identified terrorist logistics enclave,” the statement read.
“Scores of terrorists were neutralised in the strike, with their vehicles and technicals destroyed.”
OPERATION HADIN KAI: AIR COMPONENT NEUTRALISES TERRORIST LOGISTICS HUB AND ENCLAVE IN PRECISION AIR STRIKE AT JILLI, GUBIO LGA OF BORNO STATE
The Air Component of Joint Task Force (North East) Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), in a carefully planned and intelligence-driven operation,… pic.twitter.com/LrJ5wedZsb
— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) April 12, 2026
The Nigerian Air Force also issued a separate statement through its Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame.
Ejodame said the Air Force successfully carried out precision mop-up air strikes on identified terrorist locations within the Jilli axis of Borno State on April 11.
Ejodame said the mission was part of a coordinated air-ground integration operation with the Nigerian Army, following an earlier engagement that effectively decimated terrorist positions in the area.
“Coming amid intensified efforts to track and neutralise terrorist elements responsible for recent attacks on security forces within the wider theatre, the follow-on strikes were aimed at fleeing remnants and regrouping cells seeking to exploit the difficult terrain,” Ejodame said.
“Acting on credible intelligence received through close coordination with relevant stakeholders and validated by the appropriate operational command, the operation further consolidated gains already achieved by friendly forces,” he added.
The Air Force noted that the operation underscores the growing effectiveness of intelligence-driven joint force operations in denying terrorists freedom of movement and preventing attacks on both security positions and civilian communities.
What Borno State says
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum defended the airstrike in a statement issued by his media adviser, Dauda Iliya.
“I have been properly briefed on the airstrike carried out by the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai on Jilli market, a border town between Borno and Yobe states,” Zulum said.
“Let me state categorically that the Borno State Government closed Jilli and Gazabure markets five years ago,” the governor said.
Zulum described Jilli market as a “notorious hub” allegedly used by insurgents and their logistics suppliers.
He warned residents against aiding or harbouring Boko Haram insurgents, and he urged them to cooperate with security agencies.
Zulum Warns Against Aiding Boko Haram Insurgents@BornoGovt State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara @ProfZulum, has warned residents against aiding, harboring, or providing logistical support to Boko Haram insurgents.
The warning follows recent operations conducted by the Air… pic.twitter.com/PPFRMBLQET
— Dauda Iliya (@dauda_iliya) April 12, 2026
What Yobe State says
Brigadier General Dahiru Abdulsalam, military adviser to the Yobe State government, reportedly acknowledged in a statement that civilians had been affected.
“Some people from Geidam Local Government Area bordering Gubio Local Government Area in Borno state who went to the Jilli weekly market were affected,” Abdulsalam said and gave no further details.
The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency said it had received preliminary reports of an incident at Jilli Market, “which reportedly resulted in casualties affecting some marketers,” and activated emergency response.
What residents say
Lawan Zanna Nur Geidam, the councillor and traditional head of Fuchimeram ward in Yobe’s Geidam district, told Reuters that more than 200 people were feared dead.
“It’s a very devastating incident at Jilli Market,” he said. “As I’m speaking to you, over 200 people have lost their lives from the air strike at the market.”
But Lawan Zannah gave a significantly lower figure in a telephone interview with PUNCH.
He said, “From the information available to us, it was an airstrike. Over 30 people have been confirmed dead, and more than 20 were hospitalised.”
Three other residents and an official from an international humanitarian agency confirmed the strike and the estimated death toll to Reuters.
Ahmed Ali, a 43-year-old resident who sells medical consumables at the market, said he was injured in the blast.
Speaking from the hospital, he described the moment of the attack.
“I became so scared and attempted to run away, but a friend dragged me and we all lay on the ground,” he said.
Eyewitnesses said the attack occurred around 4:00 p.m. while commercial activities were ongoing, with several fighter jets reportedly involved in the operation.
One witness said, “I counted 56 corpses myself, more bodies are still being recovered.”
What the hospital says
The Borno State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri has reported a shortage of blood following the influx of civilian victims from the airstrike.
On Sunday, Dr. Shehu Muhammad, the medical director of the hospital, reported the admission of 21 persons to the facility. The victims include five females and 16 males.
“Today, we received about 21 victims of a bomb blast as well as gunshot wounds from the town between Gubio and Geidam,” he said.
“Most of them sustained various injuries. Some had an abdominal injury as well as a head injury. We have started sorting them out and most have been sorted out except for the critical ones. So far, out of the 21, we have five females, 16 are men.”
He categorised the injured victims as mild, moderate, and severe. “The severe ones need to be operated on, and some have started receiving the operation.”
Muhammad said everything needed for treatment was available, but more blood donations were required.
“So far, everything is available, and they have received all the required first aid. Some required certain units of blood before the operation, and we have no problem for now. However, we expect the public to donate blood. At the end of the day, it is blood that we will be needing. Once we have enough blood, we will be up to the task. We are in need of blood.”
He added, “Let me add, there may or may not be other victims that will come in.”
The investigation
The Nigerian Air Force, responding to reports of civilian casualties, said it had activated its Civilian Harm Accident and Investigation Cell.
The cell was ordered “to immediately proceed to the location on a fact-finding mission on the allegation.”
“The Service treats all reports of possible civilian harm with the utmost seriousness and empathy, as the protection of innocent lives remains central to all NAF operations,” the statement read.
“In line with this commitment, the CAS has directed an immediate activation of the Civilian Harm Accident and Investigation Cell (CHAI-Cell) to immediately proceed to the location on a fact-finding mission on the allegation.”
What remains unclear
Whether the Jilli market was open during the strike is still unknown at the time this report was filed. According to Borno State, it was shut down five years ago, but residents claim that the weekly market mentioned in Yobe State’s statement was active. The precise number of casualties, and also whether any civilians were among those killed, also remains unclear.
This successful strike is yet another demonstration of the resolve and operational capability of OPHK to sustain relentless pressure on terrorist elements, disrupt their logistics networks, and deny them freedom of movement within the Theatre.
The Theatre Command also wishes to… pic.twitter.com/lpBZOcbp3O
— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) April 12, 2026
The strike occurred in an area that has been the centre of Nigeria’s counter-insurgency campaign for more than 16 years. Boko Haram and ISWAP have killed thousands and displaced millions since 2009.
The military has previously been accused of carrying out airstrikes that killed civilians. A military aircraft attacked a camp for internally displaced people in Rann, Borno State, in January 2017. In December 2023, drone attacks in Kaduna State killed at least 85 civilians, a mistake the military later acknowledged.
