- NEF Demands COAS, CDS, Military Top Brass’ Resignation
- COAS Apologises As Tinubu Orders Probe Of Incident
- Atiku, Obi, Others Mourn, Offer Condolences
Following the unfortunate killing of 85 Nigerians by the Nigerian Army in a mistaken air raid on Sunday, December 3, 2023, the outrage that greeted the development is yet to abate.
This is even as the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) appeared to have stirred fresh controversies with its comments on the unfortunate incident.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, said the airstrikes were targeted at terrorists while adding that the army’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) detachment observed the movement of terrorists at Ligarma, an area notorious for being a haven of insurgents.
“It should be noted that terrorists often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres for the civilian population to bear the consequences of their atrocities,” he said in a Tuesday statement.
“Nevertheless, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorists.
“The military views every civilian death in the cause of operations as a tragedy as such tragedies are needless and unwanted, which causes the armed forces to take extensive measures to avoid them.
“For instance, communities are to always alert troops of their activities particularly when such a community is known to be infested with terrorists and their sympathisers.
“These instructions are intended at enabling the military to distinguish between friendly and untoward activities.”
The Matrix had reported that the army, Tuesday acknowledged that one of its drones aimed at armed groups had accidentally struck the Tudun Biri village as residents were celebrating a Muslim festival killing no fewer than 85 people and injuring about 66 others.
Both the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja visited deceased victims’ families and injured ones in hospitals in Kaduna on Tuesday.
However, reacting to the unfortunate incident, a public affairs analyst and member of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof Usman Yusuf, has demanded the resignation of military top brass over the incident.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday, he described the incident as utter irresponsibility lamenting that the military which ought to protect Nigerians against external threats was killing the people.
Yusuf said in other climes, all military chiefs would have tendered their resignation letters over the accident which has thrown the country into mourning.
“They will all resign; everybody in the chain of command will be fired. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), everybody will go and the President will cut his trip and return home,” he said.
Stressing his earlier point, the analyst asserted that “All of them should go – the CDS, the Chief of Army Staff, the GOC, the operatives, heads must roll.”
Both the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja visited deceased victims’ families and injured ones in hospitals in Kaduna on Tuesday.
The two service chiefs described the accident as regrettable and apologised to the people of the state, promising them that such an accidental airstrike won’t recur.
However, Yusuf said, “The Army cannot investigate itself; there should be a high-powered, independent committee headed by a retired CJN (Chief Justice of Nigeria) and in there, there should be a service chief.”
He said foreign countries would be hesitant about selling arms to the Nigerian military “when they are dropping it on our people”.
Nigeria’s armed forces often rely on airstrikes in their battle against so-called bandits and terrorists. However, such air strikes have not been without controversies, accidental bombings and alleged miscalculations, with innocent Nigerians, including soldiers as casualties.
Earlier in 2023, NAF took responsibility for a fatal airstrike on Kwatiri, a Nasarawa village. At least 39 persons were killed and six others injured in the airstrike that occurred on 24 January.
In 2021, about 20 soldiers on the ground were allegedly slain in Mainok, Borno State, when a NAF fighter jet responding to attacks on a military camp by Boko Haram insurgents bombed the military camp based on a wrong coordinate.
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commiserated with the people of the state while demanding an investigation into the accident.
This is contained in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Tuesday in Abuja.
”President Tinubu describes the incident as very unfortunate, disturbing, and painful, expressing indignation and grief over the tragic loss of Nigerian lives.
Meanwhile, reacting to the unfortunate incident, former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar has lamented the accidental bombing while calling for what he described as a “thorough investigation” into the incident.
Days after the incident which has thrown the nation into mourning Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, says the air strike was an “unfortunate incident”.
“I am grieved by the news of the drone airstrike that killed dozens of people and left scores of others with various degrees of injury in the Tudun Biri community in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Ironically, the victims of this unfortunate incident were celebrating the Maulud anniversary,” Atiku, a former vice president, wrote on his X account Tuesday.
“The incidence of miscalculated air strikes is assuming a worrisome dimension in the country. We need to develop counterinsurgency strategies that will insulate the civilian population from tragic incidents of this nature. I call on the authorities to launch a thorough investigation into this tragedy to avert future occurrences.”
While condoling with the families of the victims, he said “no resource should be spared in medical attention to the injured and assistance to the families of the dead.
“I pray that the Almighty Allah comforts the bereaved families and grants the dead eternal peace.”
His Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, also expressed grief over the incident.
In a series of tweet on his official X handle on Tuesday, the former Anambra State Governor stated that the Nigerian military must exercise utmost caution and professionalism to avoid reoccurrence.
He wrote, “I read with sadness, the devastating reports of the accidental bombing of Tudun Biri Village in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, by a Nigerian Army craft that mistook the villagers for terrorists. The lethal incident left death tolls reported to have risen to 80 persons, with several others injured.
“While our military continues to fight impressively against insecurity in many parts of the country, they must exercise utmost caution and professionalism to avoid this kind of embarrassment to both the military and the country.
“Any incident that leads to harm or loss of lives of the innocent people they are meant to protect should be avoided.
“Even though the mishap is one too many, the security agencies should work with reliable human intelligence report on ground before any offensive attack to avoid innocent casualties as has reported in this case.
“Fatal mistakes like this leave indelible trauma on the families who have lost their loved ones to this ugly and unfortunate mishap. I sincerely commiserate with families that lost their loved ones. And to the dead, I pray God Almighty to forgive their sins and grant them eternal rest, and quick healing to the injured.
“We pray that such a mistake leading to a sorrowful outcome, as this, never happens again in our country. It is regrettable that the problem of insecurity in our nation has persisted for so long that we are now paying such unintended human costs as collateral damage.”
