Compensation has been paid by the Nigerian Air Force to victims and families affected by the accidental airstrike that occurred on December 25, 2024, in Sokoto State.
The victims and families who benefited from the compensation
are residents of Gidan Bisa and Rumtuwa villages in Silame Local Government
Area of the state.
A statement issued by the Director of Public Relations and
Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, stated that the Chief of the
Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, expressed gratitude to the state
government for fostering a strong relationship between the NAF and the people.
Represented by the Chief of Civil Military Relations, AVM
Edward Gabkwet, according to the statement, the Chief of the Air Staff hailed
Governor Ahmed Aliyu for inclusive development policies and security
initiatives under the 9-Point Smart Agenda, particularly the establishment of
the Sokoto State Community Guards Corps.
Anker praised the governor’s proactive and localised
security measures, believing that his efforts have complemented federal efforts
in curbing the activities of terrorists and bandits and contributed to improved
safety across parts of the state, reinforcing the importance of strong
civil-military cooperation.
According to the Chief of the Air Staff, “The airstrike was
conducted under Operation Fasan Yamma following intelligence reports of
suspected armed terrorists transiting through the affected communities.”
Although multiple intelligence checks informed the mission,
he stated that a petition received in April 2025 alleged civilian casualties,
saying that a thorough fact-finding investigation confirmed that 13 civilians
were unintentionally killed and eight others sustained various degrees of
injuries.
He said the findings deeply saddened the Service and
necessitated urgent steps to make amends.
Aneke stressed that since assuming office on October 24,
civilian harm mitigation has remained at the forefront of his command
philosophy, pointing out that the NAF exists primarily to protect the lives and
property of Nigerians, as no professional military deliberately harms the very
people it is sworn to defend.
The compensation exercise, according to Anker, was intended
to commiserate with the victims, promote accountability and transparency, calm
tensions, and bring closure, while enabling the service to draw critical
lessons to further reduce the likelihood of similar incidents in the future.
The CAS stated that the NAF has continued to
institutionalise measures aimed at preventing and responding to civilian harm,
as well as the development of the NAF Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response
Action Plan.
The framework, he stressed, is designed to strengthen
operational planning, improve assessments and investigations, enhance
continuous learning, and ensure effective response whenever civilian harm
occurs, adding that the plan’s scalability makes it applicable across both
kinetic and non-kinetic operations, with the protection and restoration of the
civilian environment treated as a critical operational consideration.
He expressed NAF’s resolve to apply purposeful and precise
lethality in neutralising terrorists and other criminal elements, while using
the medium to appeal to citizens to desist from mingling or cohabiting with
terrorists and bandits within their enclaves, as such associations increase the
risk of collateral damage during military operations.
He assured that public cooperation remains vital to
safeguarding innocent lives as security forces intensify operations nationwide,
saying that the Nigerian Air Force, in concert with other security agencies,
remains fully committed to ending terrorism, banditry, cattle rustling, and
kidnapping across Sokoto State, the wider North-West region and the nation at
large.
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