A mistargeted attack by the Nigerian Air Force has killed at least 20 people, including members of a local vigilante group. Bello Matawalle, the Minister of State for Defense, was born and raised in Zamfara State’s Maradun Local Government Area.

According to information obtained by NEWSWORLD, the Zamfara Community Protection Guard members who were killed in the airstrike were local vigilantes.

The event happened at Tungar Kara, a hamlet in Maradun LGA, on Saturday night, January 11. According to reports, the victims of the airstrike and the Air Force were fending off a terrorist attack.

Salisu Maradun, one of the locals, told NEWSWORLD that the vigilantes had organized to protect the neighborhood with other locals when they were hit by the airstrike while attempting to recover rustled livestock from the escaping robbers.

According to Mr. Maradun, the victims were members of other groups who came together to show sympathy for the community that was assaulted.

At least 20 people were killed in the incident, according to locals, and as of Sunday afternoon, several more were still missing. Olusola Akinboyewa, the Air Force spokesperson, was not immediately available for comment regarding the event. A text message given to him had not received a response, and he did not answer calls. Yazeed Abubakar, the police spokesperson for Zamfara State, was likewise unreachable.

Amnesty International has denounced the assault and called on the Nigerian government to launch a prompt, unbiased investigation. “The airstrike that killed at least 20 people in Tungar Kara hamlet in Maradun LGA Zamfara state on Saturday night must be promptly and impartially investigated by Nigerian authorities.” Currently, dozens of injured persons are in severe condition and do not have access to medical care. “The lives of the civilians the military is meant to protect are increasingly in peril due to the Nigerian authorities’ persistent inability to hold the military accountable and to promote impunity.” X was written about by Amnesty International.

Numerous people throughout the nation have lost their lives as a result of the Nigerian Air Force’s assaults on civilians and other non-criminal groups. The event on Saturday came after ten civilians were murdered by airstrikes on Christmas Day in Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa in Sokoto State’s neighboring Silame LGA. Despite claiming that the people murdered in the Sokoto towns were terrorists, the Air Force eventually promised to look into the incident after the victims’ relatives voiced their outrage. Between January 2017 and September 2024, the Nigerian Air Force conducted out 17 unintentional airstrikes, killing over 500 people, according to SBM Intelligence, a pan-African consultancy organization. The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into Nigerian security forces includes cases of airstrikes directed against civilians.