The pan-Northern socio-political organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, on Thursday, demanded the removal of the General Officer Commanding One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major-General V.U. Okoro, over the accidental bombing of Tudun Biri in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday night.
A drone attack by the Nigerian Army intended to flush out terrorists in the area had on Sunday night accidentally hit civilians during a religious celebration at Tudun Biri.
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters said on Thursday said the accidental bombing should not be given ethnic or religious coloration just as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), while condoling families of the victims and the Kaduna State Government over the accidental bombing, called for the exercise of restraint, warning political and religious groups to not capitalize on the incident for personal or group gains.
The demand by ACF for the removal of GOC 1 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army over the incident will be the first time any group have called for the removal of a serving Army GOC or Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Officer Commanding (AOC) since mistaken bombing became prominent in 2017.
Over the years, Nigeria has recorded several accidental strikes in which over 425 persons including children and women had been killed by military accidental bombings.
A research organization SBM Intelligence in a February 2023 report titled “Air Force Mishaps,” stated that over 300 civilians have been killed in accidental airstrikes by the NAF since 2017.
SBM noted that the airstrikes’ mishaps happened while the NAF was in pursuit of terrorists in the Northern States of Niger, Yobe, Zamfara, Borno, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Katsina.
Apart from last Sunday night’s bombing by Army drone, specific incidents include the January 2023 bombing in which 37 people including 27 pastoralists were killed at the border linking Benue and Nasarawa States in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
In the April 2022 mishap, a NAF fighter jet reportedly killed six children when it fired at terrorists in Kurebe village in Shiroro LGA 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 LGA of Katsina. Another incident also took place in July 7, 2022.
In addition, on January 17, 2017, about 52 people were killed and 120 others sustained injuries in an accidental airstrike on an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Rann, Borno State.
Also, on April 13, 2020, 17 people, including children, were killed after a NAF fighter jet bombed Sakotoku village in Damboa LGA of the State.
But the ACF, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad, called for the removal of some Army officers in Kaduna led by the GOC, General Okoro, to ensure thorough investigations.
It said, “The General Officer Commanding of One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, along with his immediate subordinate officers should be redeployed to allow for unfettered investigations.
“As a trite principle of justice, One Division of the Nigerian Army must not and should not be allowed to investigate itself. An independent panel of investigators is clearly indicated. Further, the results of the investigations must be made public, issues that border on national security considerations excepted.
“The Defence Headquarters should retract its needless statement. The Ministry of Defence, and the Armed Forces in particular, should take steps to ensure that such incidents are avoided or contained to the barest minimum humanly possible.
“The Federal Government must take responsibility for full compensation to all victims of Tudun Biri. The gesture should also be extended to victims from all previous such incidents.”
The ACF pointed out that since the Sunday, December 3, 2023, incident, two significant events had occurred to warrant a reaction by the forum.
It welcomed the visit of the Minister of State (Defence) along with the Chief of Army Staff and other top government officials to the Tudun Biri Community on December 6, 2023, where the delegation also attended the funeral rites of some of the 126 victims of the incident.
“The visit was very appropriate and gave the Federal Government as well as the Nigerian Army a needed human face. The ACF considers the visit a welcome departure from earlier rather insipid response to the incident by officers of One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna.
“Although the ACF is not aware of specific words of apology from the Minister of State over the incident, arguably, the visit was in itself an apology enough to the Tudun Biri community.”
The forum stated that the COAS had announced a donation of N10m to the community, which the ACF considered as grossly inadequate, firmly believing that it was the Federal Government, not the Nigerian Army, that should take responsibility for full compensation for deaths and injuries to victims arising from the incident.
“Still, the ACF urges the Army chief, as a sign of good faith, to follow up with additional steps to ameliorate the pains and suffering of the community. The plaintive Tudun Biri community must not be left alone in its recovery process,” it stated.
The forum further noted that the statement of the Defence Headquarters of the Armed Forces, released on December 5, 2023, was totally unnecessary.
It stated, “It was especially painful viewed, as it must be, against the human costs of the tragedy. The wounds of the injured were and are still fresh and many of the dead unburied at the time of the statement. For these reasons, authorities should not minimise or downplay the monumental tragedy that the incident represents.
“Indeed, the ACF considers the Defence Headquarters’ response as proving positive that the disaster was a consequence of an inexcusable and incompetent failure of intelligence,” it stated.
The forum drew particular attention to four specific issues in the Defence Headquarters’ reaction in the reference above, and they include “(i) that the military could deploy an unmanned aerial vehicle without proper ground assessment was a strategic error because it resulted in deaths and injuries to mostly children who were not even as little as carrying sticks and stones;
“(ii) the Defence Headquarters claimed a ‘threat’ was ‘eliminated’ but such threat was tragically a gathering of mostly children as obvious from video clips and photographs now trending on social media, of the before-and-after the Tudun Biri massacre;
“(iii) the Defence Headquarters asserted that the community ought to have informed the military about its activities, an assertion tantamount to a classic blame-the-victim strategy and typical gas-lighting of the victims of the incident. On the contrary, the usual practice is for communities to be informed about impending military operations.;
“and (iv) while it is entirely plausible that terrorists often disguise as civilians and entrench themselves in the civilian population, the Tudun Biri gathering was clearly that of innocent civilian citizens, and as obvious from photos of the before-and-after the incident.”
Reacting to the incident, Defence Headquarter denied claims that the lack of synergy between the services in the military led to the bombing in Kaduna.
Addressing journalists at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba said a strong synergy existed between the Nigerian Navy, Air Force, and Army.
“Our operations in the country are joint, meaning that we are operating in a joint environment where you have the army, the Navy, and the Air Force. When we talk of cooperation, we have not had it better than this,” he stated.
He said, “The Armed Forces of Nigeria is a professional force. And within our ranks and files, we have members from every part of this country.
“So whatever group is coming up and saying whatever calculations that they have imagined in their minds, I can tell you that it is faulty, it is in error, and it is unpatriotic. At this time, when we are at war, it is not just the military that is at war. The whole country is at war.
“And that is why I have severally said on this platform that there are more people who know something than those who see and therefore know something, say something, and let us, the military, do something about it.
This came as the United States Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability on Thursday said the deployment of Artificial Intelligence would help the Nigerian military to reduce accidental bombings to the barest minimum.
The centre noted that the adoption of AI by the Nigerian military would not only improve its capabilities but would prevent the military from running afoul of international humanitarian law.
The centre’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Paul Dean, disclosed this during a roundtable meeting with select journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
CAN advises politicians
Also on Thursday, the Christian Association of Nigeria condoled families of the victims and the Kaduna State Government over the accidental bombing, while calling for the exercise of restraint, and political and religious groups to not capitalize on the incident for personal gain.
This was made known in a statement signed by the CAN President, Bishop Daniel Okoh, who commended the Armed Forces “for their unwavering commitment to the fight against terror in Nigeria”, while also calling for the equipment of the military with more accurate surveillance technologies.
Okoh also called on the Federal Government to prioritise the safety and welfare of citizens, noting that such efforts must extend beyond the currently affected areas, to other regions with emerging cases of terrorism.
He, however, reiterated the support of the association for the government and stated its commitment to fostering peace, unity, and the well-being of Nigerians.
Part of the statement reads thus: “On behalf of the national leadership of The Christian Association of Nigeria, I express our deep condolences to the victims and the Kaduna State Government following the tragic incident of mistaken targeting in the Tudun Biri community, Igabi Local Government of the State.
“This unfortunate event has resulted in a significant number of casualties, and our thoughts and prayers are with the affected families during this difficult time.
“However, it is crucial that restraint is exercised, particularly when intelligence reports are not definitive. We appeal to the Armed Forces to prioritize the safety of civilians and ensure that proper precautions and measures are in place to avoid similar incidents in the future.
“In order to prevent the recurrence of such unfortunate incidents, it is essential that they be equipped with more accurate surveillance technology and intelligent devices.”
