Community and religious leaders from the Northern part of the country on Tuesday frowned at Sunday’s kîlling of over 90 innocent villagers by military drones at Tudun Biri in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
While calling for a full-scale investigation into the incident, they also demanded compensation for survivors and families of the deceased.
Daily Trust reports that the victims, among them women and children, were struck dead as they celebrated Maulud while over 60 others were left injured.
The Defence Headquarters earlier Tuesday said the drone attack on the community was based on information about untoward activities of terrorists in the area.
This was contained in a statement by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba on Tuesday in Abuja.
Buba said the Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detachment had at about 2200hrs on Sunday, observed movement of terrorist at Ligarma, known to be a terrorist-infested area of Kaduna State.
He said the aerial surveillance captured movement of groups of persons synonymous with the terrorist tactics and modus operandi.
Buba explained that the observed advance of the terrorist that were gathered, posed a threat to key infrastructure within reach of their activities.
According to him, the threat was eliminated to prevent the terrorist from unleashing terror on innocent civilians.
“It should be noted that, terrorist often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres for civilian population to bear the consequences of their atrocities.
“Nevertheless, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorist.
“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,” he said.
But while appearing on Trust TV’s Daily Politics programme last night, Senator Shehu Sani, who is from Kaduna State, described the military’s statement as highly insensitive.
He said the language used in the statement was unfair to hundreds of families affected by the tragedy as it appeared that the military attempted to justify its action of dropping the bombs to punish many innocent people because of the crime of a few criminals, it there were any among the deaths.
Senator Sani called for a thorough investigation by the National Assembly saying similar injustices were brushed over in the past.
A renowned Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi has urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure a thorough investigation and payment of compensation to the families of those kîlled.
Dahiru Bauchi, who made the call while speaking with newsmen in Bauchi, said: “We want the government of President Tinubu to stand firm to ensure justice for the affected people kîlled while celebrating Maulud, and punish the officers that carried out this dastardly act to prevent future occurrences.”
He commiserated with the immediate families of the decéased and the entire Muslim community and prayed to Allah to forgive them and grant them eternal rest.
The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) said it was in utter disbelief that the military would act in such a manner knowing fully that before any operation is carried out due diligence is usually done, backed with irrefutable intelligence.
The Secretary-General, JNI, Professor Khalid Abubakar Aliyu in a statement expressed condemnation and called for a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the devastating and most unfortunate event.
The National Chairman, Council of Ulama, Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Ikamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, called on the military and the federal government to fully investigate the incident, saying that the kîlling of innocent Nigerians, by the military was unacceptable and should not be allowed to go scot-free.
The cleric who made the statement Tuesday during a press briefing at his residence in Jos, emphasised that Allah would hold all those who were responsible for the incident accountable.
On its part, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has urged the federal government to adequately compensate the victims of the army bombing. The ACF National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba in a statement noted that such incidents of accidental or inadvertent military actions have happened in other communities in the past, with tragic consequences on civilians.
“Communities in the northern states have enough problems with banditry to have to again worry about becoming hapless victims of the misbegotten strategies of those who should be helping to wipe out the scourge of banditry and terrorism,” he said.
Similarly, the President General of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Comrade Shettima Yerima commiserated with victims and their families and called for a thorough investigation saying, “The perpetrators of this so-called mistake must be made to explain beyond reasonable doubts how people carrying out religious activities could be mistaken for terrorists.”
sad news