Editorial Opinion
Army Bombing Of Kaduna Citizens
On Monday, December 4, 2023, the sad news of the killing of citizens of Kaduna state by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV, drone of the Nigerian Army made front page news headlines across the nation. According to an officer of the Army, General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Nigerian Army, and Force Commander Operation Whirl, Maj-Gen.V.U. Okoro, a drone was deployed to attack suspected bandits which later turned out to be innocent civilians. Residents of the affected communities said they were celebrating Maulud, an Islamic event when the bombs were dropped.
Following the attack, the army later confirmed that the attack on Kaduna citizens was an ‘error’.
As at today, December 5, 2023, medical doctors and army authorities have confirmed that 86 persons were killed in the attack. Also, over 84 persons have been confirmed injured and are presently receiving medical treatment.
Interestingly, since 2017 to date, there are various accidental ‘error’ attacks by the Nigerian Air force on innocent civillian citizens in the course of attacking bandits and Boko Haram terrorists. Not less than 425 persons including children and women had been killed by military accidental bombings between September 2017 and 2023; the killing of about 52 people on January 17, 2017, while 120 others sustained injuries after a NAF jet accidentally bombed an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Rann, Borno state. On September 26, 2021, it killed no fewer than 20 residents in the area. To date, the Air Force has yet to own up to the incident, despite the insistence of the villagers. Also, no compensation has been paid to dead victims and survivors of these attack. On July 7, 2022, another 13 residents were wounded while one other died after a NAF fighter jet struck Kunkuna village in Safana LGA of Katsina State; 64 persons were killed and many injured in an airstrike by the NAF on December 19, 2022, at Mutumji Community in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State. On January 25, 2023, no fewer than 40 herders were killed, including four in Nasarawa State, during yet another accidental strike. The accidental ‘error’ attack on civilians and deaths are unacceptable.
The accidental ‘error’ killing of innocent citizens in the name of attacking bandits and terrorists has become one too many and must be stopped. By now, following the acceptance of responsibility for this attack, the commander of the UAV unit should have tendered his resignation letter for this sad incident. Anything short of his resignation shall be tantamount to ‘dancing on the souls of innocent citizens’.
While it’s noteworthy that the Army has accepted responsibility for the latest deaths in Kaduna State, this should not bring a final closure on the unfortunate death of these citizens. The Army must go further than accepting responsibility for the deaths of these people, it must pay financial compensation to the survivors of the attack and dead persons. It must pay for the medical treatment and hospital bills of survivors of the attack.
In this regard, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, I call on President Tinubu to immediately set up a panel of inquiry into the circumstances that led to the unfortunate death of Kaduna citizens in that attack. The panel of inquiry must:
1. Investigate why reconnaissance feedbacks received from the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV drone, was not used by army personnel who were supposed to study the video footage of the UAV before deploying it to attack its target.
2. Confirm if dereliction of duty by any army personnel was responsible for the death of innocent citizens and physical mauling of survivors.
3. Where necessary, punitive/disciplinary measures must be meted out to army personnel who are supposed to manage the drone and are found culpable in the death of these citizens and injury of survivors.
Finally, president Tinubu must follow up on the disciplinary measures of army officers found culpable in the death of the citizens. Also, he must ensure that adequate compensation be paid to the families of dead persons and survivors. These measures are the best to putting the souls of dead persons to rest.