On Thursday, March 06, 2025, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar descended on Zamfara State, confronting the wreckage of a tragic airstrike gone awry. Meeting victims and families in Maradun LGA, he voiced “deep regret” over the January 11 incident that killed 11 vigilantes and injured 11 more, mistaking them for terrorists. “This deviates from our mission to protect civilians,” he told Governor Dauda Lawal, pledging the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) would do better.
The CAS laid out the grim timeline: intelligence flagged armed motorcyclists in Dangebe Village, tied to bandit kingpin Bello Turji, after a strike hit the area January 10. Surveillance confirmed suspicious movements—textbook terrorist tactics. But the bombs fell, and reports trickled in: the NAF had hit a vigilante crew returning from a bandit hunt, not the enemy. A fact-finding team confirmed the blunder, and Abubakar owned it. “We’re accountable,” he said, rolling out aid: cash for families, rebuilt structures, two new motorcycles, and a solar-powered borehole for Kambarawa Village.
Abubakar doubled down on reform, spotlighting the NAF’s Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP)—a blueprint to sharpen precision, vet targets, and respond when civilians suffer. “This isn’t just talk,” he implied, meeting Lawal to cement a pact for tighter security. The governor, praising the NAF’s candor, handed over a Certificate of Occupancy for a new Air Force Base near Gusau Airport—a brick-and-mortar vow to lock down Zamfara’s bandit-plagued wilds.
X lit up. “NAF’s stepping up—rare accountability,” one user posted. Another jabbed, “Regret’s fine, but dead vigilantes don’t cash checks.” Group Captain Kabiru Ali, NAF’s PR deputy, framed the visit as proof of “operational refinement and community engagement.” It’s a pivot from past silence on collateral damage, but the sting lingers—vigilantes, allies in the fight, paid the price for shaky intel.
This lands amid Nigeria‘s broader turmoil: Rivers militants threaten oil over funds, the Senate suspends Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, and PDP pros demand party purges. Abubakar’s mea culpa contrasts with legislative defiance—where the Senate flouts courts, the NAF owns its mess. Lawal’s nod to collaboration hints at a united front, but X users aren’t sold. “Fix the intel, not just the fallout,” one tweeted, echoing skepticism over repeat tragedies.
The CAS’s trek to Zamfara isn’t just damage control—it’s a test. Can the NAF turn regret into results, or is this another bandage on a broken system? With banditry bleeding the Northwest and trust thin, Abubakar’s promises—cash, boreholes, bases—face scrutiny. “We’re committed to minimizing this,” he told Lawal, but the ghosts of January 11 loom. On X, the verdict’s split: some see a military owning up, others a grim rerun of civilian cost. As Zamfara mourns, Nigeria watches—will the NAF’s wings lift, or just limp?
Leave a comment