Tinubu's Aide Defends Jilli Market Airstrike Amid Controversy

Dada Olusegun, a special assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, defended the military airstrike on Jilli Market, located near the Borno-Yobe border, asserting that it was aimed at a terrorist logistics hub used by the Islamic State West Africa Province. The operation followed sustained intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, which indicated movements of motorcycles and gun trucks linked to suspected terrorists converging in the area.

However, local sources emerged disputing the outcome, with the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency confirming civilian casualties and describing the strike as an accident. In response to questions regarding the legitimacy of the airstrike, Olusegun stated that anyone conducting business with terrorists constitutes a legitimate military target.

The defense headquarters maintained that Jilli Village has long been identified as a terrorist logistics corridor and a convergence point for insurgents.