Many people are feared dead following an airstrike by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) that struck the Jilli weekly market (also referred to as Dilli Market) on the border of Borno and Yobe states on Saturday, April 11, 2026.
The strike occurred while commercial activities were ongoing in the afternoon.
The market regularly attracts traders and buyers from surrounding communities, including Gubio, Chibok, Benisheikh, Geidam, and Gurokayeya.
The Yobe State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed the development but said no official casualty figures were available as of the time of filing the report.
“We are aware of the incident… and we are currently gathering information on what transpired. Security agencies are on the ground assessing the situation,” he stated.
Local sources said the airstrike was carried out during a military operation targeting suspected Boko Haram insurgents believed to be collecting levies and gather supplies from the market.
However, a witness in Damaturu said the fighter jet missed its intended target.
One witness reported that four fighter jets carried out the attack around 2:46 p.m. while business activities were ongoing.
“I counted 56 corpses myself and helped rescue two injured people,” the source said, adding that more bodies were still being recovered.
The councillor of Fichimaram Ward, Malam Lawan Zanna, confirmed that about 20 people were admitted to the Specialist Hospital in Geidam, with two later referred to the Teaching Hospital in Damaturu.
He said over 30 people had been killed, and nine of the hospitalized victims later died, raising the death toll to more than 30.
Other sources put the number of fatalities at no fewer than 56, with 14 others hospitalized.
The Special Adviser to the Yobe State Governor on Security Matters, Brigadier General Abdulsalam Dahiru (rtd), said the incident occurred within Borno State, noting that Jilli village falls under Gubio LGA of Borno.
As of press time, the Nigerian Air Force had not issued an official statement on the incident.
Emergency response efforts were ongoing, with injured victims receiving treatment at hospitals in Geidam and Damaturu.