An investigation into airstrikes by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) that killed people in the Mutumji hamlet in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State while they were targeting terrorists has been launched by the Nigerian military.
Speaking to reporters on December 22, Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, Director of Defence Media Operations (DMO), said that the airstrikes were only intended to target the bandits who had invaded the area in large numbers on motorcycles.
In response to allegations that more than 60 civilians were killed during the strike, Danmadami stated the military has formed a committee to look into the situation.
He claims that the governor of Zamfara State has not formally informed the military of the number of people who have been murdered.
Additionally, he said that the media had overstated the number of soldiers that died in the operation.
Danmadami said;
“Investigation has been ordered into the operation to ascertain if actually there was collateral damage and equally the number of people that were involved
“So, for now, we cannot give you any specific number as to the level of collateral damage that happened during that incident so as not to jeopardise the investigation that is ongoing.
“The air bombardment was a precision bombardment and a lot of terrorists were equally neutralised during the operations.”