THE Nigerian Army has taken responsibility for the air bombing that occurred in Kaduna on Sunday, December 3.
The incident reportedly left many villagers killed and several others injured at Tudun Biri village in Kaduna State.
The ICIR reports that scores of people were feared dead when Tundun Biri village was bombed by a yet-to-be-identified jet while celebrating Maulud Nabiyy (the birth of Prophet Muhammad) in the late hours of Sunday, December 3.
Though the details of the attack are still sketchy, pictures and posts sighted by The ICIR on social media, particularly X, indicate that no fewer than 30 people lost their lives during the incident.
Following the incident, the Kaduna state government called an emergency security meeting chaired by the deputy governor, Hadiza Balarabe, on Monday, December 4.
It was at a meeting that crucial information about the incident was revealed.
The commissioner overseeing the state’s Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the latest development at the end of an emergency security meeting.
According to Aruwan, heads of security agencies who attended the meeting included the commissioner of Police, MY Garba, and the director of the State Security Services (SSS), Abdul Eneche.
Others are the chairman of the state chapter of Jam’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Shafi’u Abdullahi, and other religious leaders.
“The Kaduna State government has received briefings on Sunday night’s attack, which left several citizens dead and others injured.
“In a meeting presided over by the Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, which had in attendance heads of security agencies, religious and traditional leaders, the Nigerian Army explained the circumstances which led to the unfortunate and unintended attack.
“The General Officer Commanding 1 Division Nigerian Army, Major VU Okoro, explained that the Nigerian Army was on a routine mission against terrorists but inadvertently affected members of the community,” Aruwan said.
Aruwan told reporters after the security meeting that the operation unintentionally harmed residents as the forces were conducting a routine raid against local insurgents.
He also revealed that the injured victims had been taken to the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital for medical attention and that search and rescue efforts were still ongoing.
Aruwan apologised for the bombing.
According to earlier reports, the Nigerian Air Force was accused of the attack, but the organisation promptly denied the claim.
Reacting to the allegation, the NAF spokesman, Edward Gabkwet, noted that the Air Force had not conducted any air operation in Kaduna since Sunday morning.
Gabkwet also stressed that NAF was not the only organisation operating armed drones within the region.
The ICIR reports that this wasn’t the first time the Nigerian military would be accused of bombing armless Nigerians.
In 2021, The ICIR reported how the Nigerian military killed and injured civilians in several villages, leading to the forced displacement of hundreds of residents. The military had embarked on offensive airstrikes at insurgents’ hideouts in Zamfara state and provided support for ground troops to rid out criminals from the North-East region.
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Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M