No Civilian Casualties in Jilli Strike, Says Defence Minister Musa

The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has insisted that the recent airstrike on Jilli in Borno State did not kill innocent civilians but targeted individuals aiding terrorist groups.

Musa made the remarks during an interview on Arise TV following a security meeting led by Bola Tinubu.

Defending the operation, he said:

“There was no innocent person there… They were there for business with terrorists.”

The strike, which has sparked criticism and reports of civilian deaths, has fueled debate over military operations in the North-East.

But Musa dismissed allegations of faulty intelligence:

“We moved based on intelligence… It was a deliberate operation.”

He described Jilli as a long-standing no-go area functioning as a logistics base where supplies are exchanged between civilians and insurgents.

“That place is not a normal civilian market,” he said. “It is a point where terrorists meet with those who support them.”

Highlighting financial incentives, Musa noted:

“If you take a bag of rice there, you can sell it for as much as N150,000… The attraction is huge.”

He argued that voluntary collaboration with insurgents removes civilian status under the laws of conflict:

“He who supports a terrorist is one of them.”

However, he acknowledged that some individuals are coerced:

“There are people who are forced… But those who willingly go… are not innocent.”

Musa also cast doubt on reported casualty figures:

“Did anybody show pictures? Did anyone confirm those numbers?”

He added that the area had already been vacated, questioning the presence of people there.

The Defence Minister warned that civilian collaboration prolongs the insurgency:

“These logisticians are the ones sustaining them… Without them, the terrorists cannot operate.”

He concluded with a caution:

“If you make yourself available in that environment, you become part of the threat landscape.”

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