By -Abba Hamisu Sani
Africa-Press – Nigeria. The Bombing of 120 Innocent Citizens by the Nigerian Army called an Accident
Sunday 3rd of December 2023 was a tragic day for the innocent Villagers of Tudun Biri, in Igabi Local government area of Kaduna State.
The major news dominating the Nigerian media is the reports of bombing and killing of dozens of people by the Army drones.The victims of the unfortunate accident are Muslims that were celebrating Mawlid (The birthday of Prophet Muhammad).
Reports indicated that more than one hundred citizens lost their lives.Even though the Nigerian army accepted the fault which it described as a mistake ,many Nigerians disagree with the Military as they ask why conducting the operation without proper intelligence gathering.
The incident happened while President Bola Tinubu was away in Dubai ,United Arab Emirate attending COP28 conference.
Kaduna accidental Bombing one of many in Nigeria
Available data shows that military accidental strikes killed 425 persons in 6 years
Approximately 425 persons, including children and women, had been reportedly killed by military accidental bombings between September 2017 and December 2023.
According to a report titled “Air Force Mishaps” by a research organization that compiles and analyzes data about happenings in the country (SBM Intelligence) in February 2023, revealed that over 300 civilians had been killed in accidental airstrikes by the Nigerian Air Force since 2017.
SBM said the airstrikes happened while the NAF was in pursuit of terrorists.
The report lamented that mishaps had increased in the last two years, adding that no compensation had been paid to victims’ families.
According to SBM Intelligence, the mistakes have increased in the last two years with littacknowledgmentent from the NAF.
The most affected States
The report said that Niger, Yobe, Zamfara, Borno, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Katsina States are the worst-hit states in the country.
In January 2023, it was reported that 37 people including 27 pastoralists were killed after a bomb exploded at the border linking Benue and Nasarawa States at the Doma local government area of Nasarawa State.
In April 2022, a NAF fighter jet reportedly killed six children, when it fired a bomb targeted at terrorists in Kurebe village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
Also in June 2022, 13 residents were injured while one other died after a NAF fighter jet struck Kunkuna village in the Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State.
On January 17, 2017, about 52 people were killed while 120 others sustained injuries in an accidental airstrike on an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Rann, Borno State.
Also, on April 13, 2020, 17 people, including children, were killed after an NAF fighter jet bombed Sakotoku village in Damboa Local Government Area of the State.
The condemnation of the Kaduna Bombing by local and International communities
The most recent of all is the Kaduna village bombing mishap where 85 villagers in Tudun Biri of the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State were feared dead after a bomb was allegedly dropped by a military jet on Sunday. But later the death toll increased to 120.
Residents of the affected communities said they were celebrating Maulud, an Islamic event when the bombs were dropped by the military.
This development has, however, triggered both local and international condemnation.
Following the incident a mass burial was conducted for the victims on Tuesday while the Army claimed responsibility for dropping the bomb on the village.
President Tinubu’s reaction
President Bola Tinubu has ordered an investigation into the military drone strike that killed the civilians gathered for a religious celebration over the weekend.
In a statement released by his spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale on Tuesday, Tinubu said that the bombing mishap was worrying and painful”
“The President directs a thorough and full-fledged investigation into the incident and calls for calm while the authorities look diligently into the mishap,” Ngelale said.
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, also said civilians were mistakenly killed and many others were wounded by a drone targeting terrorists and bandits”.
Isa Sanusi is the director of the Amnesty International Nigerian office. He said 120 people were killed in the attack, citing reports of its workers and volunteers in the area.
“Many of them were children and more dead bodies are being discovered,” Sanusi said
The group’s director stated this in an interview with the Associated Press.
“They said they mistakenly threw a bomb on them,” he said.
The Tudun Biri incident is just one in a long list of recent bomb attacks against residents of northern Nigeria.
Since 2009, the conflict between armed groups, including the Sunni Group for Preaching and Jihad -commonly known as Boko Haram and the armies of Nigeria and the sub-region has caused the death of a considerable number of civilians. According to Doctors without Borders, the 2.9 million or so displaced persons and refugees in the Lake Chad region (UN 2020), and particularly in North East Nigeria (more than 2 million displaced), live in towns,mps or enclaves controlled by the military, in extremely precarious conditions.
The war between Boko Haram and the government intensified in 2015 with the Nigerian Army’s offensive and the help of neighboring countries to drive Boko Haram out of the main towns in Borno State.
While the Nigerian Army continues its operations against the insurgents, armed groups affiliated with Boko Haram are pursuing their strategy of terror, multiplying attacks and massacres in the Lake Chad region.
Between February 2014, when a Nigerian military aircraft dropped a bomb on Daglun, in Borno State, killing 20 civilians, and September 2022, more than 14 documented cases of this type of bombing have been recorded in residential areas by various NGOs.
In a statement published last June, Human Rights Watch called for greater transparency on the part of the Nigerian authorities, who had “provided little information and failed to do justice for a military air strike that killed 39 civilians and injured at least six others on 24 January 2023.”
Rebel attacks have ravaged parts of Nigerianorthwestest and central regions. The country’s forces frequently target the hideouts of armed groups with aerial bombardment but have sometimes bombed villagers.
The groups, known as bandits, have raided villages, attacked an Air Force fighter jet and a train, and kidnapped people of all ages, including children, for ransom.
The latest bombing caused outrage among citizens, underscoring continued allegations of human rights abuses by Nigerian security forces that have raised concerns from Western allies, including the United States.
In February 2023, two members of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee called on the Biden administration to halt $1billionn in arms assistance for Nigeria following reports on the targeted killing of children by the Nigerian military and program of forced abortions for women in the north, many of whom were victims of sexual violence by the group Boko Haram.
MURIC called for a thorough and prompt Investigation
Professor Ishaq Akintola is the Executive Director of Muslim Right Concern. He urged the Federal Government to conduct an in-depth investigation into the causes of the incident and punish all those involved immediately.The activist stated this in a statement recently.
The executive director of MURIC, also described the incident as carelessness and lack of professionalism from the military site as they said the air strike was targeted at terrorists but killed many villagers celebrating the birth of Prophet Muhammad.
Akintola condemned the killings, adding that persons behind the incident should be punished.
“MURIC demands full investigation into the circumstances surrounding this disaster. Those found responsible for the callous murder of these innocent Muslim villagers must be made to face the full wrath of the law.
We also demand full compensation for lives lost and properties destroyed in this thoughtless attack” Professor Akintola stated.
However at this time the Federal government under President Tinubu should take drastic measures to stop such inhumanity.
Casualties of such accidental air strikes in Niger,Zamfara,Katsina Nasarawa,Yobe and Borno States are yet to be compensated. There is need to give urgent attention to the families of the victims and provide proper care to the wounded casualties receiving treatments in Kaduna Hospital
Within these six years.tax payers Money are used in purchasing the weapons that is used in killing them due to Military’s negligence.
Some public analysts like Senator Shehu Sani said ,the bombing was not a mistake as said by the Army, why it only happens in masses dominated areas ,why not in Government reserve areas (GRA’s).
He also questioned the Military intelligence as it can not differentiate between a target object and the innocent communities
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