Video footage showing fires and panicked residents fleeing Tumfa market in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State has surfaced online following a Nigerian Air Force strike on May 10, 2026.
Amnesty International has reported that over 100 civilians were killed in the bombing, the majority of them women and girls. The human rights organization has called the strike reckless and is demanding an independent investigation.
According to Amnesty, the air strike hit Tumfa market during its weekly trading day, when villagers from surrounding communities gather to buy and sell food, livestock, and household goods.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos as the bombs landed. Bodies were scattered across the market. Stalls were destroyed. Survivors scrambled to pull victims from the rubble and flames. Many of the dead were women who had come to sell vegetables and grains, and young girls who accompanied their mothers.
This is the second deadly market bombing in northern Nigeria within a month. Amnesty International has described the pattern as deeply troubling and indicative of a disregard for civilian protection in military operations.
The organization is calling for accountability and urging the federal government to launch an independent probe separate from the military’s internal review process.
The Nigerian Air Force has acknowledged the strike but denied that civilians were killed. In a statement released shortly after the incident, military officials said the operation targeted a gathering of armed bandits who have terrorized Zamfara communities for years.
The statement claimed that intelligence reports indicated the bandits were using the market area as a meeting point and logistics hub. The Air Force insisted that the strike was precise and that all casualties were armed criminals.
The military’s version of events contrasts sharply with what Amnesty and local sources are reporting. Residents of Zurmi have told journalists that the market was full of ordinary people going about their daily business.
They say there were no armed men visible at the time of the strike. Some survivors have accused the military of acting on bad intelligence or failing to verify targets before launching the attack.
Zamfara State has been a hotbed of banditry for years. Armed groups operate across large swaths of rural territory, kidnapping for ransom, stealing cattle, and raiding villages.
The violence has displaced thousands and made farming and trade extremely dangerous. The military has conducted numerous air and ground operations in the state, some of which have resulted in civilian casualties. Trust between communities and security forces has eroded as a result.
Public reaction to the Tumfa bombing has been sharply divided. On social media, many Nigerians have defended the military, arguing that the people in the market were likely bandits or their supporters. One user wrote, “If you are in Zamfara market, you know what is happening there.
Those people are not innocent.” Another said, “The bandits use civilians as shields. The military had no choice.”
Others have questioned the authenticity of the footage or suggested it was filmed elsewhere. Some commenters claimed the video was old or taken from a different incident.
