Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has said that when government kills those "innocent people" cooperating with terrorists, it becomes no different from terrorists killing those cooperating with government.

Sheikh Gumi said this after calling for a probe of a military airstrike reported to have killed innocent traders at Jilli Market in Borno State last week.

He said on Facebook, "Terrorists fight the government and, in the process, kill innocent people whom they see as cooperating with the government. If the government now adopts the same 'mentality' of killing innocent people they see cooperating with terrorists usually out of fear from proximity to their sphere of influence, then the difference is obliterated."

Meanwhile, former Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has said those sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria can be easily spotted from the kind of statement they issue after every attack.

This was as he lamented that daring terrorist acts usually happen every time Nigeria is close to an election period.

In a post on social media, Sani described as devillish the game of trying to score political points using terrorism as a tool.

He said, "Each time an election comes closer, you will see an upsurge in daring terror attacks that were never experienced earlier in the North. That can’t be a coincidence. There’s no name attached to it, but by their statements after every attack, you can fish them out. Playing the terror Chess cards with the aim of politically benefiting from it is one of the most tragic and devilish political strategy by the enablers and perpetrators. They are burning the farm in order to own the land."

His post followed a series of statements issued by opposition politicians following a military airstrike on Jilli Market in Borno State.

Initial reports indicated that civilians controlled the market and may have been the casualties. This aggravated opposition politicians, who condemned the government for killing its own citizens.

However, the military issued a statement to clarify that the market was a major hub for terrorist activities and logistics. The Borno State Government buttressed the claim by recalling that the same market was closed down years ago for being a hub of terrorists.