The Nigerian military faces renewed scrutiny as another incident of misdirected airstrikes claims over 80 lives in Kaduna State.
Breaking the studied silence since Sunday night, the Kaduna State government acknowledged that the blast in Tudun Biri was caused by a Nigerian Army drone misidentifying villagers as terrorists, despite initial denials by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
An anonymous but credible source from the local government area confirmed that no fewer than 83 people were killed during the bombing around 9:00 p.m. while villagers gathered to observe Maulud (the birth of Prophet Muhammad). The number of injured individuals is reported to be 53.
During a visit to the Emergency Department of Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna on Monday, our correspondent observed over 50 injured patients receiving attention. Those with severe cases had been taken to the theatre for corrective surgeries.
A significant number of the injured individuals were children and women. During a meeting convened by the deputy governor, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, attended by heads of security agencies, religious, and traditional leaders, the Nigerian Army clarified the circumstances behind the regrettable and unintended attack.
General Officer Commanding One Division Nigerian Army, Major V.U. Okoro, said the army was on a routine mission, which it had launched against terrorists, but it unfortunately affected members of the community.
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At the end of the meeting, Balarabe offered condolences from the government and the people of Kaduna to the families that lost their loved ones, and prayed for the repose of the victims’ souls, adding that the victims will be compensated.
Samuel Aruwan, Overseeing Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kaduna State, said search and rescue operations were still ongoing yesterday as the government evacuated dozens of injured victims to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital.
Heads of security agencies who attended the meeting included the Commissioner of Police, M.Y. Garba; and Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Abdul Eneche; while the chairman of Kaduna chapter of Jam’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Prof. Shafi’u Abdullahi, led other religious leaders to the meeting. Also present was the District Head of Rigasa, Alhaji Aminu Idris, in whose domain the incident occurred.
Governor of the state, Senator Uba Sani, has ordered an investigation into the drone attack by the military, just as the government directed a state-owned hospital to offer free treatment to all the survivors.
In a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mohammed Lawal Shehu, the governor ordered a thorough investigation to forestall future occurrences, by immediately convening an emergency security meeting.
Earlier reports had blamed NAF for the attack, but the force released a statement saying they were not involved in the tragedy, as they had not carried out any air operations within Kaduna during the time frame of the attack.
The incident on Sunday raises the count to 10 of misdirected missiles, intended for bandits and terrorists but inadvertently striking wrong targets, resulting in the premature deaths of numerous Nigerians.
A prior tally from media reports indicated a minimum of nine instances of miscalculated airstrikes occurring between September 2021 and January 2023. States including Zamfara, Yobe, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, and Nasarawa were among those affected.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has demanded an immediate, thorough, and transparent investigation into the airstrikes that resulted in the death of villagers on Sunday night, referring to it as one incident too many.
HURIWA urged the government to identify the victims and their immediate families for the purpose of providing adequate compensation. Additionally, the organization called on the military to implement measures to prevent such a regrettable operational error in the future.