UN Demands Probe as Nigerian Military Airstrike Kills 100+ at Zamfara Market

The UN human rights chief has called for independent investigations into a military airstrike on a market in Zamfara State that killed at least 117 people — one of the deadliest incidents in Nigeria’s long-running battle against armed bandits in the northwest.

What the UN said

“I am shocked by reports that Nigerian army airstrikes on a market in Zamfara State killed at least 100 civilians on 10 May and injured many more,” Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement. He called on Nigerian and Chadian authorities to “conduct prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into these disturbing incidents.”

Türk added that military operations “must be conducted in full compliance with international humanitarian law” and that “civilians and civilian objects must never be the target of attack.”

What happened in Tumfa

The airstrike hit Tumfa market in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State on Sunday, May 10. Daily Trust reported at least 117 people killed and dozens more injured. Residents said casualties included both armed bandits and civilians — the market sits in an area effectively under bandit control, where locals have no real choice but to trade under armed groups who act as de facto authorities.

A community leader, Garba Ibrahim Mashema, told reporters that “the actual death toll is hard to establish” because poor communication networks in the area delayed news of the strike by nearly two days. Amnesty International said witnesses described many of the dead as women and children.

A separate Nigerian Air Force operation the same day hit Guradnayi in Niger State, where 13 civilians were reportedly killed.

Military says no civilians died

Defence Headquarters issued a statement on Wednesday flatly denying any civilian casualties in its northwest operations. It did not address the Tumfa market strike directly, maintaining that its operations target armed bandits and violent non-state actors only.

The gap between what communities, Amnesty, and the UN are saying and what the military is claiming is wide. The UN’s involvement adds significant weight to calls for a formal inquiry. Zamfara has been at the centre of Nigeria’s banditry crisis for years — the state has lost thousands of lives and seen hundreds of thousands displaced since 2019.

Sources: Daily Trust, Leadership, Al Jazeera, Amnesty International