Tobias Sylvester
A fighter jet belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has ‘mistakenly’ bombed and killed at least 17 people at Sakotoku village in Damboa local government area of Borno State.
According to TheCable, those that were killed included women, and children who were said to be playing under mango trees.
The report quoted a military sources saying the air force was informed that Boko Haram insurgents were gathering around the village on Thursday afternoon.
The supposed target, according to the source, was an area in Korongilum, a neighbouring village 12 kilometres away where suspected Boko Haram insurgents had gathered earlier.
“We don’t know if they didn’t communicate well with the land troops as the air force jet fired that bomb on the village,” one of the sources said.
“Seventeen people were killed, mostly women and their children playing under mango trees. Many were also injured and have been taken to the 25 army brigade in Damboa, and those with critical injuries were taken to Maiduguri.”
Some of the villagers whose houses were destroyed have found their way to Damboa.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that In 2017, 126 civilians were also killed in Rann, Borno state, in an accidental air strike by the military.
When contacted about the incident in Sakotoku, the NAF spokesperson, Ibikunle Daramol said: “It’s a matter of operation and the defence headquarters would be in a better position to speak on the matter.”
Both Onyema Nwachukwu and John Enenche, defence headquarters spokespersons, were not reachable for comment as they neither responded to calls nor replied text messages.
