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.
Nigerian Air Force pays victims, families of December 25, 2024 airstrike
