A Nigerian military fighter jet has mistakenly struck and killed about 20 men of a vigilante group during an operation targeting bandits in Garin Mani, a village in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

The tragic incident occurred after armed bandits attacked the village, killing several residents and abducting over 50 others, mostly farmers who were working on their fields.

Eyewitnesses who pleaded anonymity said the attackers stormed the area on motorcycles around noon, shooting indiscriminately and causing widespread panic.

In response, local vigilante groups mobilised and began chasing the fleeing assailants.

However, a military aircraft deployed to the scene allegedly misidentified the vigilantes as bandits and launched airstrikes on them.

“We were pursuing the bandits when we saw the fighter jet approaching,” one of the vigilantes told BBC Hausa.

“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.”

Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident and expressed disappointment over the lack of communication from the military.

“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 appealed to the government to deploy additional troops to the area, as the bandits had threatened to return.

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred. In January, an airstrike mistakenly killed 16 people, including vigilantes, in Tungar Kara, also in Zamfara.

Similarly, in December last year, 10 residents of Gidan Bisa in Sokoto State were killed in a misdirected airstrike.

As of the time of filing this report, the Nigerian military has yet to issue an official statement on the latest incident.